ChatGPT ads are coming and most of us aren’t prepared.
95% of OpenAI’s 800M users are on the free tier– 35M are paying, generating $13B in 2025.
They’re bleeding billions and have enormous long-term compute commitments that dwarf today’s revenue.
But Sam Altman isn’t building a charity.
He knows ChatGPT’s model is squarely as an aggregator, much like Google and Facebook.
Their job is to suck in everyone’s content, reshuffle it, and own the user relationship.
In other words, more data and more compute yield better recommendations– which is why they provide the free tier (it’s not altruism), have a browser (now my favorite vs Chrome), and are testing shopping ads.
The rich conversations you and I are having, compounded by perfect memory, allow the LLMs to slide in sponsored recommendations.
User: “My dishwasher is leaking – what should I do?”
ChatGPT: asks a couple diagnostic questions, then:
“This is likely a failing inlet valve. You can DIY it, or if you’d like, I can connect you to a vetted local appliance repair company that can be there tomorrow.”
Advertisers will pay a 5-10% commission, instead of $50 a click.
And no need to write 10 headlines, manage 1,000 keywords, optimize bid strategy, or mess with complex ad structures.
Since ChatGPT can handle ad optimization on the fly, including post-click– call centers, landing pages, follow up emails.
Agencies who have survived on mechanical implementation are cooked– while those of us who understand strategy and branding (I’m looking at you Dan Antonelli) will thrive.
Watch the “SEO experts” and agencies try to argue in the comments.
They’ll say things like:
“You still need content, links, and technical SEO.”
“The AI needs something to rank, so you have to feed it pages.”
“Performance Max already automated this and agencies are still fine.”
“You can’t just let a model handle creative and targeting; you need humans in the loop.”
Fine. Keep telling that story if your paycheck depends on buttons and dashboards.
Here’s what you actually need to know if you’re a real business that gets paid to do work in the real world:
- Reputation beats tactics.
Whoever has the best proof wins. Not the best hack, not the fanciest funnel.
Real reviews, with detail and recency.
Case studies, before/after photos, jobs actually done.
Mentions on other sites, podcasts, news, associations.
When ChatGPT has to pick one roofer, one dentist, one appliance repair company to recommend, it’s going to lean hard on: “Who has a history of actually making customers happy?”
- Make your entities strong.
Your brand, your people, your locations, your services – these are entities in a knowledge graph, not just “keywords on a page.”
Structured data and schema so machines know exactly who you are and what you do– which I explain in the “how SEO actually works” video on YouTube.
Consistent profiles across Google, LSA, social, directories, and industry sites.
If the AI can’t confidently identify you, it can’t confidently recommend you.
- Feed the system better ingredients.
LLMs are basically giant chefs. They can only cook with the ingredients they’re given.
Publish your wins like Tommy Mello, Dan Antonelli, and Chuck Thokey.
Get interviewed and interview others on podcasts like Danny Leibrandt.
Turn jobs and customer stories into text, photos, and video that live on the open web.
The model will happily do the cooking – copy, targeting, sequencing – but you’re responsible for the pantry.
- Stop chasing trickery.
The days of “secret targeting,” goofy campaign structures, and keyword voodoo are numbered.
As soon as the system has enough data, it will flatten all the hacks. The cheap little edges that agencies love to brag about get averaged out by a model that sees everything.
ChatGPT ads won’t reward whoever screams the loudest or spends the most on a freelancer to crank out random blog posts.
They’ll reward the businesses with:
The strongest reputation graph
The cleanest entities
The deepest, most verifiable proof they’re legit
In other words: whoever has the best ingredients wins.
Not whoever has the most tricks.
I dare you to ask ChatGPT right now how well you’d fare if ChatGPT ads went live today– and to ask it to help you collect, structure, and strengthen the signals that strengthen the entities of you (founder), your local service business, and your city.
Then get an AI Apprentice to help you– your son/daughter or a young adult who’s been certified in our program.