ChatGPT Ads adds local billing through Aleph in 44 markets

OpenAI has named Aleph Group its exclusive reseller for ChatGPT Ads in 44 markets. Aleph said on November 12 that brands and agencies in those markets could start buying ads through its local teams that day. The deal changes where advertisers can sign a contract, pay their bill and get help getting a campaign off the ground.

Aleph says its teams will handle onboarding and initial support in the advertiser’s market. They will issue invoices locally and bill in local currency, according to the company. Chief executive Gastón Taratuta also said Aleph would extend credit. The announcement gave no rate card or criteria for qualifying for credit through the reseller.

The agreement covers 14 markets in Latin America, including Argentina, Chile and Colombia, and 16 in Europe and Central Asia, including Croatia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Ten are in the Middle East and Africa, including Saudi Arabia and South Africa. The four Asia-Pacific markets are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. OpenAI confirmed in August that ChatGPT ads had launched in South Korea and Japan. Both sit outside the Aleph agreement.

Buying through Aleph or through Ads Manager

OpenAI maintains its own list of markets where advertisers can buy directly through its self-service Ads Manager. To use it, the legal entity running the ads and receiving the bill must be based in a supported market. Argentina and Croatia appear on both lists. Hong Kong appears in Aleph’s announcement and was absent from OpenAI’s self-service list when checked on November 12. The Ads Manager list tracks where businesses can buy directly. It does not establish where people will see ads in ChatGPT.

OpenAI’s campaign documentation already lists budgets in several local currencies, including the Chilean peso, Kazakhstani tenge and South Korean won. It sets the minimum daily campaign budget at 25,000 won for accounts billed in that currency. That figure applies to the OpenAI documentation for Ads Manager. Aleph’s announcement gave no minimum for campaigns purchased through its teams.

Who receives the invoice also matters for agencies buying on a client’s behalf. Under OpenAI’s rules for self-service accounts billed by card, putting an agency’s card on an account leaves the legal invoice customer unchanged unless there is a separate approved commercial billing arrangement. Approved partner or agency billing arrangements follow their own procedures. OpenAI bills advertisers after delivery, as costs accrue while their campaigns run.

What people see in ChatGPT

ChatGPT can show ads to eligible Free and Go users in supported regions. OpenAI says the ads are labeled and displayed below the answer. It uses a separate system to deliver ads. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts are ad-free, and OpenAI excludes accounts identified as belonging to people under 18.

OpenAI says advertisers receive aggregate performance figures such as views and clicks. A business can see what a user sends directly to it through an ad, while the user’s ChatGPT conversation and memories stay private from advertisers. Turning off personalization leaves ads eligible to match the current conversation. OpenAI says that setting removes other chats and past ad interactions from the signals used to choose an ad.

OpenAI also distinguishes access to an advertiser account from access to a campaign’s target market. Some new self-service accounts can initially run ads only in their home country. Choosing another market in campaign settings takes effect only when the account is eligible to advertise there. OpenAI says an account’s history can expand where it is allowed to advertise, and it gives no timetable for when that access will become available.

Aleph’s partnership site lists the 44 markets in its inquiry form. It asks whether the advertiser is a brand or agency and says it will route inquiries to a team in the market selected.