ChatGPT’s emerging ad ecosystem is gaining momentum with more brands appearing, clearer trigger patterns, and evolving ad placements, according to AI ad intelligence firm Adthena.
What’s happening. After identifying the first advertisers inside ChatGPT last week, Adthena now reports a clear ramp-up in advertiser participation and ad delivery behavior.
Advertisers spotted so far:
- Best Buy
- AT&T
- Pottery Barn
- Enterprise
- Qualcomm
- Expedia
How ads are triggering. Based on a sample of 1,500+ prompts analyzed over the past week:
- Most ads appear on the first prompt.
- Some only trigger on the third or fourth repetition of the same query.
- High-intent modifiers like “best” and “new” appear to carry significant weight.
Example prompts include:
- “I am going to buy a new phone. What is the best phone?”
- “I need a new phone.”
- “I need to buy a new desk, what’s best?”
Between the lines. Keyword triggers appear relatively simple, focused on strong commercial intent rather than nuanced emotional language. In one example, Best Buy secured two ad placements in a single response for iPhone-related queries, signaling early experimentation with positioning and share of voice.
Why we care. As ChatGPT advertising scales, understanding trigger behavior — even at a basic keyword level — will be critical if you’re testing this new platform.
Spotted. Adthena CMO Ashley Fletcher shared the results of the competing ChatGPT ads, posting screenshots on LinkedIn.
Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.