OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Seven Asian Markets

OpenAI began rolling out ChatGPT Ads across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan on Sept. 24, adding seven markets to a product that now reaches more than 60 countries.

The expansion follows a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate that OpenAI said ChatGPT Ads reached in fewer than 200 days after launch, according to an announcement the company made in late August, PPC Land reported. OpenAI has not said how much of that run rate comes from any single region.

Dave Dugan, OpenAI's vice president and head of global ads solutions, said the expansion marks the start of a new phase for the business. "We're at the beginning of a new chapter for advertising, with AI creating new ways for businesses and people to connect," Dugan said.

Who gets access, and how

Eligible businesses in the seven new markets can buy ads directly through OpenAI's Ads Manager without going through an intermediary, MARKETECH APAC reported. That self-serve option did not accompany OpenAI's Aug. 29 launch in India, where advertisers still need an agency or technology partner.

OpenAI named five agency partners handling ChatGPT Ads globally: dentsu, Havas Media, Omnicom Media, Publicis Groupe and WPP. Shopee is among the early advertisers extending into the new markets. Peggy Zhu, the company's executive director for brand and growth marketing, said the move continues a relationship that began with ChatGPT Ads' debut in Brazil.

"Following the launch of ChatGPT Ads in Brazil, we are pleased to extend this collaboration to Southeast Asia and Taiwan," Zhu said.

How many advertisers are actually buying

OpenAI describes its advertiser base only as "tens of thousands" of businesses. A more precise count comes from a different source: the ad-tracking firm Adthena counted 7,378 distinct advertisers running ChatGPT ads in mid-July, with 60.1% of them based in the United States, PPC Land reported, citing Adthena's data.

Metric	Figure
Countries with ChatGPT Ads	More than 60
Markets added Sept. 24	7
Advertisers tracked by Adthena (mid-July)	7,378
Share of those based in the U.S.	60.1%
Annualized revenue run rate (Aug. 31)	$1 billion
Days to reach that run rate	Fewer than 200

That U.S. concentration means the Southeast Asia and Taiwan rollout is a bet on diversifying a business that, as of mid-July, ran overwhelmingly through American advertisers.

What OpenAI has not said

Ads appear only to people on ChatGPT's Free and Go plans; subscribers on the Pro and Enterprise tiers do not see them, under the ad policy OpenAI has described since the product launched. OpenAI has not disclosed pricing, ad formats or performance data specific to the seven new markets, and it did not say when self-serve access might reach India's advertisers.

OpenAI said it plans to keep expanding into new markets over the coming months and to add ad formats, optimization tools and measurement products, without giving a timeline for either.

Related reporting: OpenAI has been building out other paid lines beyond the ads business, including a dedicated ChatGPT product for investment banks and a reworked pricing deal with the U.S. government that replaced a flat annual fee with metered billing.