I wrote this post on October 30, 2026, and checked it against OpenAI's announcement and Help Center pages. It covers what the October 21 expansion changes for advertisers and agencies, and what it does not.
I am based in Serbia, one of the new markets, so these rules now apply to my own work. I work in three Ads Manager accounts, two in GBP and one in USD, none of them for Serbia. Setup steps and ad formats are in my ChatGPT Ads guide.
ChatGPT Ads in 89 countries: what changed and what did not
The expansion changed access. If your legal entity is in one of the 89 listed countries, you can buy ChatGPT Ads yourself in Ads Manager or through a technology partner. It did not change which ChatGPT plans show ads, how you pay, or how you measure results.
| Area | Changed on October 21, 2026 | Stays the same |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | 26 new countries, 89 in total | Self-serve needs a legal entity in a listed country |
| Buying | Ads Manager or a technology partner in the new markets | You pay per view or click, not per conversion |
| Audience | People in 26 more countries | Ads show only on the Free and Go plans |
| Account | No change | Country, currency and time zone are fixed at creation |
| Measurement | No change | OpenAI Pixel on your site, Conversions API on your server, or both |
| Privacy | No change | OpenAI says advertisers do not see conversations |
Sources: OpenAI, October 21, 2026; OpenAI Help Center: Ads Manager availability; OpenAI Help Center: Creating campaigns; OpenAI Help Center: Ads Manager account setup; OpenAI Help Center: Conversion measurement
OpenAI says more than 1.2 billion people use ChatGPT each week and that over 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns. Only users on the Free and Go plans see ads, so your reach is a share of that 1.2 billion.
Should you test ChatGPT Ads in a newly opened market?
Test when four things are ready: an eligible legal entity, tracking you trust, correct landing pages, and a budget you can treat as a test. If one is missing, fix it first.
Eligible legal entity
The legal entity that is billed must be based in a country marked Available.
Tracking you trust
Before launch, your tracking already counts sales or leads, not just clicks.
Correct landing pages
Prices, stock and language are right on every page an ad can reach.
A budget you can treat as a test
Money you can spend to learn, without expecting payback in month one.
Only the first question is an OpenAI rule. The other three are mine. OpenAI sets a minimum daily budget per currency, for example $25 or €15. I do not use a fixed budget floor for ChatGPT Ads yet, because the platform is still young.
For me, ChatGPT Ads runs as a test next to Google Ads, not instead of it. I show where each channel wins in my ChatGPT Ads vs Google Ads comparison.
Plan your first ChatGPT Ads test in a new market
In one session I go through your entity, tracking, landing pages and markets, and tell you what I would fix before you spend.
Book a consultationMulti-market brands and agencies: plan the account first
Plan the account before you open it. OpenAI fixes the country or region, currency and time zone at creation. Some new self-serve accounts can also advertise only in their home country at first.
Match the card to the entity
Billing details and the payment method should match the account's business entity and country. OpenAI warns that a card from another country may not be accepted.
No account-level cap on cards
Self-serve card accounts cannot set an account-level daily limit. Only postpaid invoice accounts can. I control spend with campaign budgets.
For a brand that sells in several countries, I plan a staged launch, not every market on day one. For an agency, a new client account may start in its home country only. It then qualifies for other countries on its own. If a market is in the EEA or Switzerland, OpenAI says to avoid custom audiences until personalization is available. More European rules are in my ChatGPT Ads in Europe post.
Creative enhancements: on by default from October 30, 2026
From October 30, 2026, creative enhancements are on by default for new and existing campaigns. They can change your text, language, image size and landing page, and the changed versions can run without your review.
In a new market, I start with creative enhancements off. My first results then come from ads and pages I checked. When every page the enhancements can reach is current, I switch them on and compare the results with those of the first weeks. This is my rule. OpenAI lets you change the setting at any time in Ads Manager.
Measurement: what I set up before the first click
The expansion did not change measurement. To count conversions, you still need the OpenAI Pixel on your site, the Conversions API on your server, or both. I set them up before launch.
The Pixel and the Conversions API report one sale with one event ID. Tap Compare with GA4 to see why totals differ.
Keep the click reference
OpenAI adds oppref to your landing page URL, and the Pixel stores it in a first-party cookie. I check that redirects keep it.
One event ID for both
If you send a sale through the Pixel and the Conversions API, use the same event ID. OpenAI uses it to remove duplicates.
Hashed in the browser
Automatic advanced matching reads form data, normalizes it and hashes it with SHA-256 in the browser. OpenAI says it does not receive the raw data.
Consent and modeled conversions
Collect user consent where the law requires it. OpenAI also reports modeled conversions where available.
Ads Manager and GA4 can show different numbers. OpenAI names attribution, time zones and consent as reasons. I compare trends over full weeks, not totals.
How I would approach a newly opened market
I start with one campaign in the home country and judge it by full weeks. I add one country at a time, once the account can advertise there. In a new market, the order matters more than the budget. My goal is Conversions once tracking works; Clicks only as a test, with metrics set in advance.
The daily budget is an average over 7 days. One day can spend up to 2x the daily budget, and a week up to 7x. Spend data lags by 7-8 hours, while impressions and clicks update in about 15 minutes. So I do not judge or change a campaign on day one.
Letting the sign-up campaign go live unchecked
Ads Manager can build a first campaign from your URL. It can go live after review if billing is set up. I check it before adding a card.
Judging ChatGPT Ads by CPC
Clicks from a conversation are not the same as clicks from a search. I compare cost per sale or lead over full weeks, not CPC.
ChatGPT Ads expansion FAQ
Where are ChatGPT Ads available now?
On October 30, 2026, OpenAI's Ads Manager availability table listed 89 countries as Available for self-serve accounts. The same number appears in OpenAI's October 21 announcement. To use self-serve, the legal entity that advertises and is billed must be based in one of them. For a specific country, check that table.
Which countries did OpenAI add on October 21, 2026?
OpenAI added 26 countries. Among the new markets, the announcement names Nigeria, South Africa, Serbia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. For any other country, I check the Ads Manager availability table. It shows self-serve status country by country.
Source: OpenAI, October 21, 2026
Do ChatGPT Plus users see ads?
No. OpenAI says ads appear only on the Free and Go plans. The Plus, Pro and Enterprise plans stay ad-free. So the audience you can reach is the Free and Go users in your markets, not every ChatGPT user.
Source: OpenAI, October 21, 2026
Can a new account advertise in several countries?
Not always at first. OpenAI says some new self-serve accounts can advertise only in their home country. Such an account becomes eligible for other supported countries once identity verification is approved and it reaches the required spend from home-country campaigns. I plan the first weeks in one country.
Can Shopify stores outside the US use ChatGPT Ads?
Probably, but confirm it first. OpenAI's October 30, 2026, email to advertisers says the Shopify integration is now available internationally. On the same day, OpenAI's Shopify help page still said it was available in the US, with other markets coming shortly. The integration syncs your catalog and sends commerce events through the OpenAI Pixel for Shopify.
What changed in this guide
I update this post when OpenAI changes where or how advertisers can buy ChatGPT Ads.
- October 30, 2026: First version. OpenAI announced the expansion on October 21, 2026. I checked every OpenAI claim against its announcement, its Help Center pages and its October 30 email to advertisers on October 30, 2026.
Plan your first ChatGPT Ads test in a new market
In one session I go through your entity, tracking, landing pages and markets, and tell you what I would fix before you spend.
Book a consultation