ChatGPT ads for UK trades: is it worth paying to appear in AI answers?

This is the year adverts moved into AI assistants. OpenAI started running ads in ChatGPT and has since let more advertisers buy them. Over at Google, ads already appear inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, served through ordinary Google Ads campaigns.

Plenty of the trades and local firms we speak to want to know if they should jump in. Below is how we weigh it up for a business like yours.

What actually happens when a ChatGPT ad shows?

A user types a question and ChatGPT writes its reply in the usual way. Where an advertiser’s offer fits what’s being discussed, a sponsored card may be shown below the reply. It has a visible “Sponsored” label, a brief message and a link.

Because the card lives outside the reply, it doesn’t alter what ChatGPT tells the user. Picture someone asking how to stop a radiator going cold at the top: the reply explains bleeding radiators, and a relevant heating firm’s card could appear beneath it.

Independent studies looking at US answers have reported ads on a big proportion of replies, including plain information questions and not only shopping ones. Take those numbers carefully. They’re one-off snapshots from outside researchers, not figures published by OpenAI.

ChatGPT ads and Google Ads side by side

Which local businesses are a good fit?

The best candidates are businesses where customers think things through before they buy, and are the type to get an AI assistant’s view before deciding:

• Bigger, considered jobs: kitchens, extensions, loft conversions, new boilers, solar panels, landscaping projects.
• Services where people ask for comparisons, such as which type of heat pump or roof covering suits their home.
• Local services in busy, competitive towns, where people ask questions like “who’s the best roofer near me”.

They make less sense if most of your work comes from urgent, ready-to-buy searches. Someone typing “emergency plumber near me” with water through the ceiling is still best reached with Google search ads.

Setting up a sensible first test

1. Confirm you can buy. Self-serve buying has been rolling out country by country and account by account. Check OpenAI’s advertiser tools show it as available for your UK account before you plan any spend.
2. Ring-fence a test budget. Pick an amount you’re happy to learn from, usually a small slice of what you spend on search.
3. Write ads that fit the chat. Make the ad feel like a useful next step, for example “See what a combi swap costs in Dundee”, rather than a shouty banner.
4. Send clicks to a dedicated page that carries on the conversation the person was having, with straight answers and one simple way to get a quote.
5. Measure it properly. Add UTM tags, make sure consent and conversion tracking work, and count calls, forms and booked jobs, not clicks.
6. Review after four to six weeks and compare the cost per enquiry with what Google Ads delivers.

The free option: getting mentioned in the reply

A paid card under the reply has its uses. Being named inside the reply is better, and nobody charges you per click for it. We call that earned AI visibility. It grows from clear content on your website, plenty of good reviews and mentions on sites people trust, like local directories, trade bodies and the local press.

For a roofer covering three towns, that might mean a clear service page for each area, recent reviews that mention the towns by name, and an up-to-date Google Business Profile.

Frequently asked questions

Can an advertiser change what ChatGPT says?

According to OpenAI, no. Ads appear apart from the reply with a sponsored label, and paying doesn’t let an advertiser change ChatGPT’s recommendations.

Can I target ChatGPT ads with keywords?

Not the way Google Ads works. Ads are matched to what the conversation is about rather than to exact keywords, so clear messages and good landing pages matter even more.

Should a small trade business try ChatGPT ads?

Possibly, if you keep it small. Most small firms will get more from sorting out Google Ads, their Google Business Profile and their earned AI visibility before spending here.

Are there ads inside Google’s AI Overviews?

Yes. Your current Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns can already serve ads inside AI Overviews and AI Mode, with no extra campaign needed.

Sources and further reading

• LLM Pulse: how often ads appear in US ChatGPT answers
• Astiva: which AI search platforms carry ads in 2026
• SEO Inc: link changes in Google AI Mode and AI Overviews (October 2026)

Want help with this? We can plan and track a ChatGPT ads test next to your Google Ads campaigns, so you know what each enquiry really costs. Get in touch.