OpenAI brings ChatGPT advertising business to Israel
Israeli companies can now create and manage advertising campaigns through OpenAI’s Ads Manager as the company expands its $1 billion advertising business globally.
OpenAI is opening its ChatGPT advertising business to Israeli companies, adding Israel to the list of countries where businesses can use the company’s Ads Manager to create, launch and manage advertising campaigns inside the chatbot.
The move does not mean that Israeli ChatGPT users will immediately start seeing advertisements. OpenAI has not announced when ads will begin appearing in Israel, and the company is rolling out advertising access to businesses and ads to users separately.
OpenAI began reaching out to advertisers in the region this week, inviting them to use its advertising platform. In an email sent to advertisers, including recipients in Israel, the company said ChatGPT Ads Manager is now available to advertisers based in the Middle East. OpenAI has also updated its website to list Israel among the countries where self-service Ads Manager is available.
Ads Manager allows businesses to create and manage campaigns, set budgets and monitor performance. OpenAI introduced the self-service platform in beta earlier this year as it expanded its advertising business beyond its initial group of advertisers.
Israel joins a growing list of Middle Eastern markets where advertisers can now use the platform, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. OpenAI’s current list also includes countries across Europe, Asia, North America and other regions.
The expansion comes as OpenAI rapidly scales an advertising business that began as a U.S. test. The company launched its first ChatGPT ads pilot in the United States on Feb. 9, initially targeting adult users on its Free and Go plans. OpenAI said ads would be clearly identified and kept separate from ChatGPT’s answers.
OpenAI subsequently expanded the program to additional markets. In August, it announced that ChatGPT Ads was coming to 31 European countries, with self-service access through Ads Manager following later that month.
The company said on Aug. 31 that ChatGPT Ads had reached an annualized revenue run rate of $1 billion in less than 200 days. At the time, OpenAI said the platform was being used by tens of thousands of advertisers and that self-service advertising access was expanding across India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
OpenAI has positioned advertising as one component of a broader business model that also includes consumer subscriptions, enterprise products and API usage. The company says advertising helps support free and low-cost access to ChatGPT.
