AI is changing the way people search, compare products, ask questions, and make buying decisions. For businesses, this creates a new advertising opportunity. Instead of showing an ad only on a traditional search page or social media feed, brands can now appear around AI-powered experiences where people are actively researching what to buy or which service to choose.
In 2026, platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Search with Gemini-powered experiences, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity are becoming important parts of the digital marketing conversation. However, each platform works differently. Some already offer direct advertising options, while others are still developing their advertising model.
For example, OpenAI currently offers ChatGPT Ads through Ads Manager, including Reach and Clicks campaign objectives. Google is testing new ad formats in AI Mode powered by Gemini, while Microsoft is developing advertising experiences inside Copilot.
This guide explains the complete process, from account preparation and campaign planning to creative development, launch, tracking, and optimization.
What Are AI Ads Campaigns?
An AI Ads Campaign is a paid advertising campaign designed to reach people while they use AI-powered search, chat, research, or recommendation experiences.
The important difference is user intent.
Someone asking:
“Which accounting software is good for a small business?”
is already exploring a business solution.
Someone asking:
“Best website development company for a small business in India”
has an even clearer commercial intent.
This makes AI platforms interesting for brands that sell products or services where research is an important part of the buying process.
However, AI advertising should not be treated as a replacement for Google Ads, Meta Ads, SEO, or other marketing channels. It should normally work as another part of the marketing system.
Which AI platforms can businesses advertise on?
The current AI advertising landscape is not the same across all platforms.
| Platform | Advertising situation | What businesses should know |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Ads available through OpenAI Ads Manager | Campaign creation, audience/context signals, CPC and CPM options |
| Google + Gemini | AI-powered ad formats being tested and expanded | Existing Google Ads remains important |
| Microsoft Copilot | Ads and new ad experiences are being developed across Microsoft | Works closely with Microsoft Advertising |
| Perplexity | Advertising and sponsored experiences are evolving | Strong focus on research and commercial discovery |
| Claude | Currently ad-free | Anthropic says Claude will remain ad-free |
OpenAI says ChatGPT Ads are now available directly through Ads Manager in India and other markets, while Google has announced new ad formats for AI Mode. Microsoft has also introduced advertising formats designed for Copilot conversations.
One important correction: if by “Cloud ert” you meant Claude, Claude is not currently an advertising platform. Anthropic publicly states that Claude will remain ad-free.
Step 1: Prepare Your Business Before Creating an AI Ads Campaign
Don’t open an advertising account and start spending immediately.
First, prepare the basic marketing assets.
You should have:
- Business name
- Website
- Business email
- Company logo
- Brand colors
- Product or service details
- Target customer profile
- Main locations
- Pricing or starting price
- Main offer
- Landing page
- Contact form
- Phone or WhatsApp option
- Privacy policy
- Terms and conditions where required
- Conversion tracking
- Good-quality images or videos
Your website is especially important.
If your advertisement gets a click but the landing page is slow, confusing, outdated, or missing important information, the campaign can waste money.
A simple landing page should explain:
- What you offer
- Who it is for
- Why customers should consider you
- Starting price or offer, where suitable
- Your process
- Proof such as portfolio, reviews, or case studies
- A clear enquiry button
Step 2: Create Your ChatGPT Ads Account
ChatGPT currently has a dedicated advertising system called Ads Manager.
OpenAI’s official advertising platform allows advertisers to create an account and then build campaigns, ad groups, and advertisements.
The general process is:
Create account → Business details → Billing → Ads Manager → Campaign → Ad group → Ad → Tracking → Review → Launch
After account creation, complete the business and payment information requested by the platform.
Keep your business information consistent with your website and other advertising accounts.
Create your first ChatGPT campaign
Open the Ads Manager and begin a new campaign.
OpenAI currently documents two major campaign objectives:
- Reach
- Clicks
Reach campaigns focus on impressions, while Clicks campaigns focus on valid clicks. OpenAI says advertisers can use CPM for Reach and CPC for Clicks.
For a service business that wants website enquiries, a Clicks campaign may be a logical starting test because the campaign is built around bringing people to the landing page.
Your campaign structure can look like:
Campaign: Website Design Services
Ad Group 1: Website redesign
Ad Group 2: Business website
Ad Group 3: WordPress website
Ad Group 4: Ecommerce website
Keep each group focused. Don’t put every possible service into one campaign.
Step 3: Choose Your Target Context
AI advertising is different from simply buying a list of keywords.
ChatGPT’s advertising system can use conversation context and advertiser-provided context hints. OpenAI says these hints can describe conversations, topics, or keywords where the product may be relevant, but they are not exact-match keywords and do not guarantee delivery.
For example, a website development company could provide context around:
- Website redesign
- Business website
- WordPress development
- Ecommerce website
- Website maintenance
- Landing page development
- Website development pricing
The goal is to tell the system where your service makes sense.
Your landing page should also match these topics.
If the ad talks about WordPress website development, don’t send visitors to a page that only talks about social media marketing.
Step 4: Create the Ad
Your ad needs to be simple.
A basic structure is:
Headline: Website Design for Growing Businesses
Description: Get a modern, mobile-friendly website designed around your business goals. Request a free consultation today.
Landing Page: Relevant website service page
Creative: Professional image or approved visual asset
OpenAI says ChatGPT ad units can include the advertiser name, logo/favicon, headline, description, landing page, and image asset. Ads are shown separately from ChatGPT’s answers and clearly identified as advertisements.
Avoid exaggerated claims such as:
- “Guaranteed #1”
- “100% guaranteed sales”
- “Instantly become rich”
- “Everyone will buy from you”
Use clear business benefits instead.
Step 5: Set Your Budget
Start with a controlled test budget.
Don’t put your full monthly advertising budget into one campaign on the first day.
A simple testing plan can be:
Week 1: Small controlled test
Week 2: Remove weak ads and improve the landing page
Week 3: Increase budget on useful combinations
Week 4: Compare leads, sales quality, and cost
OpenAI’s current guidance says its Ads Manager supports maximum CPM or CPC bids at the ad-group level, and for CPC campaigns it recommends starting around $3–$5 USD per click, while actual delivery and cost can vary.
Treat that as platform guidance, not a promise of performance.
Step 6: Track Every Click and Lead
Never run a serious campaign without tracking.
At minimum, track:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- CTR
- CPC
- Spend
- Landing-page visits
- Form submissions
- Phone calls
- WhatsApp enquiries
- Qualified leads
- Sales
- Cost per lead
- Cost per customer
OpenAI supports conversion measurement and UTM parameters for tracking ChatGPT Ads traffic in analytics systems.
A useful URL structure can include:
?utm_source=chatgpt&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=website-design
Use different tracking values for different campaigns so you know exactly where enquiries came from.
Step 7: Understand Gemini Advertising
Gemini is closely connected with Google’s wider advertising ecosystem.
This is important because you don’t necessarily create a completely separate “Gemini Ads account” in the same way you might create an independent advertising account.
Google is integrating AI into Search and advertising.
In 2026, Google announced new ad formats for AI Mode that use Gemini to make ads more helpful and relevant to the user’s research. Google says these formats are being tested as part of its wider AI-powered Search advertising development.
Therefore, businesses should keep their Google Ads account, website, Merchant Center where relevant, conversion tracking, and product/service information properly maintained.
Prepare your Google Ads account for AI-powered Search
Focus on:
- Strong search campaigns
- Accurate conversion tracking
- Good landing pages
- Clear product information
- Useful ad copy
- Quality images
- Strong business information
- Negative keyword management
- First-party conversion data
- Regular campaign testing
AI may change how people search, but the basics of good advertising still matter.
Step 8: Microsoft Copilot Advertising
Microsoft is also bringing advertising into AI-powered experiences.
Microsoft Advertising has introduced tools that connect traditional advertising with AI-powered Copilot experiences. Its advertising platform also uses Copilot to help advertisers create assets, review campaigns, troubleshoot problems, and understand performance.
The basic workflow is:
Microsoft Advertising account → Campaign → Targeting → Assets → Budget → Tracking → Review → Launch
Microsoft has also introduced Offer Highlights for retail use cases in Copilot, Edge, and Bing in selected English-speaking markets.
For businesses targeting customers who use Microsoft products, Bing, Edge, and Copilot, Microsoft Advertising can be included in the wider search advertising plan.
Step 9: Perplexity and AI Search Marketing
Perplexity works differently from a normal search engine.
It focuses heavily on answering questions with information gathered from online sources. Its own documentation describes real-time web searching, source citations, and research features.
For marketers, this means brand visibility is not only about buying an ad.
Your website should also contain useful and trustworthy information.
Create:
- Detailed service pages
- Pricing information
- Comparison pages
- FAQs
- Case studies
- Original research
- Helpful blog posts
- Location pages
- Product information
- Clear company information
Perplexity also offers marketing and advertising-related enterprise use cases, including campaign research, customer sentiment research, SEO analysis, and advertising keyword research.
The exact paid advertising options available to advertisers can change, so always check the platform’s current advertiser documentation before planning a budget around a specific Perplexity placement.
Step 10: What About Claude?
Claude should be treated differently.
Anthropic announced in February 2026 that Claude would remain ad-free. The company says it does not want advertising inside Claude conversations or third-party product placements that users did not request.
So, instead of planning a Claude Ads Campaign, businesses can focus on:
- SEO
- Google Ads
- Microsoft Advertising
- ChatGPT Ads where available
- Content marketing
- PR
- Social media
- AI-friendly website content
- Brand authority
Claude can still be useful as part of your internal marketing workflow, but that is different from buying ads inside Claude.
Step 11: Create AI-Friendly Ad Creatives
AI advertising does not mean you should forget good design.
Your creative should quickly communicate:
Problem → Solution → Benefit → Action
For example:
Problem: Your old website is losing enquiries.
Solution: Modern website redesign.
Benefit: Better mobile experience and clearer customer journey.
Action: Get a free consultation.
Create multiple versions:
- 1:1 image
- Landscape image
- Mobile-friendly creative
- Short video
- Static banner
- Product image
- Testimonial creative
Don’t make every design look identical.
Test different messages instead.
Step 12: Build a Simple AI Ads Campaign Structure
A service company can use this structure:
Campaign 1 — Brand Awareness
Goal: Reach
Content:
- Brand introduction
- Main services
- Key benefit
- Strong visual
Campaign 2 — High Intent
Goal: Clicks
Content:
- Specific service
- Specific problem
- Starting price
- Strong CTA
Campaign 3 — Lead Generation
Goal: Website enquiry
Content:
- Offer
- Case study
- Portfolio
- Consultation
Campaign 4 — Remarketing
Where supported:
- Website visitors
- Engaged visitors
- Previous prospects
- Existing customer segments
This structure makes reporting much easier.
Step 13: Optimize After Launch
Launching the campaign is not the end.
It is the beginning.
Check performance regularly.
If you get impressions but very few clicks, review:
- Headline
- Image
- Offer
- Target context
- Message
If you get clicks but no enquiries, review:
- Landing page
- Page speed
- CTA
- Form
- Pricing
- Trust signals
If you get many enquiries but poor-quality leads, review:
- Target audience
- Location
- Offer
- Qualification questions
- Ad message
Don’t increase the budget just because clicks are increasing.
Look at the quality of the traffic and the actual business result.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many businesses make the same mistakes when trying a new advertising platform.
Avoid:
- Launching without conversion tracking
- Sending every ad to the homepage
- Using one message for every audience
- Copying Google Ads directly into AI advertising
- Using poor-quality images
- Making unrealistic promises
- Changing campaigns every few hours
- Increasing budget too quickly
- Ignoring landing-page problems
- Looking only at clicks
- Ignoring lead quality
- Treating every AI platform as the same
AI advertising is still developing quickly. Features, availability, campaign types, pricing, and targeting options can change. Always check the current platform documentation before making a large advertising investment.
Final AI Ads Campaign Checklist
Before launching, make sure you have:
- Business account
- Verified website
- Billing method
- Landing page
- Conversion tracking
- UTM tracking
- Campaign objective
- Audience/context plan
- Ad copy
- Creative assets
- Budget
- Bid strategy where applicable
- Location targeting
- Lead handling process
- Analytics
- Follow-up system
After launch:
- Check delivery
- Check impressions
- Check clicks
- Check CPC/CPM
- Check conversions
- Check lead quality
- Improve weak creatives
- Improve landing pages
- Test new messages
- Scale carefully
The biggest opportunity is not simply “advertise on AI.” It is building a complete system where paid advertising, SEO, website content, creative design, analytics, and sales follow-up work together.
AI search is moving toward a more conversational buying journey. ChatGPT Ads are already expanding, Google is testing advertising inside AI Mode, and Microsoft is developing advertising experiences around Copilot. Perplexity is also becoming useful for research-led marketing workflows.
For businesses, the practical approach is simple: start with the platform that matches your customers, test with a controlled budget, measure real business results, and improve the campaign based on data.
If you want to plan, create, manage, and optimize AI advertising along with Google Ads, Meta Ads, SEO, website development, graphic design, and video marketing, Picasso Multimedia can help you build the complete marketing system.
Ready to bring your business into the AI advertising era? Visit www.picassomultimedia.com and connect with Picasso Multimedia today.
