Acceleration in ChatGPT ad activity spotted
ChatGPT’s emerging ad ecosystem is gaining momentum, according to new monitoring from AI ad intelligence firm Adthena — with more brands appearing, clearer trigger patterns, and evolving ad placements.
What’s happening. After initially identifying the first advertisers inside ChatGPT last week, Adthena now reports a noticeable 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. The keyword triggers appear relatively simple — focused on strong commercial intent rather than nuanced emotional language. In one notable 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 for brands testing this new channel.
The bottom line. ChatGPT ads are moving from pilot to pattern. The signals may be simple for now — but the competitive dynamics are already taking shape.
Spotted. The results of the competing ChatGPT ads were shares by Adthena CMO Ashley Fletcher who shared screenshots on LinkedIn.
