OpenAI opened self-serve access to its ChatGPT Ads platform across India, Europe, and the MENA region on August 31, and disclosed the same day that the six-month-old business is running at a $1 billion annualized revenue rate. The self-serve platform across European markets is now live in more than 40 countries, per CNBC, serving ads against a free tier and the ChatGPT Go plan that together reach roughly 1 billion weekly active users.

The economics of the rollout tell the strategic story. In May, OpenAI removed a $50,000 minimum-spend requirement and introduced cost-per-click pricing, per Quartz. India’s Ads Manager was scheduled to open September 4 with a daily minimum budget of ₹725, about $7.60. That’s not a rounding error against a five-figure floor; it’s a different market entirely. Small and midsize businesses now account for a material share of the ad base, according to MarketingProfs.

“Expanding self-serve access across European markets opens that opportunity to businesses of every size — from startups building their first campaign to global brands looking for new ways to grow,” said Dave Dugan, OpenAI’s vice president of global ad solutions, in comments to Digiday. Eligible advertisers can build and manage campaigns directly, though agency and tech partners remain available.

The framing echoes Google’s mid-2000s AdWords posture: shrink the minimum, widen the funnel, let the auction do the sorting. OpenAI is targeting $2.5 billion in ad revenue for 2026, per Quartz. The current run rate trails that number, which is presumably why the floor keeps dropping.

Sources