OpenAI added 26 countries to ChatGPT Ads on October 21, 2026, bringing the total from 63 to 89, according to PPC Land's report of the announcement. Ads appear only on the Free and Go plans. Advertisers can buy through technology partners or self-service in Ads Manager. If you want to test a new market, start with one country, a capped budget and a clear goal.
What did OpenAI announce?
The announcement is titled "ChatGPT Ads expands to 26 new countries as over 100,000 advertisers have used the platform," per PPC Land, which links the OpenAI post at openai.com. We could not open that page. Everything below comes from PPC Land's summary of it, plus Search Engine Roundtable, and should be checked against OpenAI's page.
- Total markets: 89, up from 63.
- Advertisers: OpenAI says "over 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns on ChatGPT" since ads launched just over eight months ago. That is a cumulative figure. It does not say how many are active now or how much they spend.
- Who sees ads: "Ads will appear only on the Free and Go plans." Plus, Pro and Enterprise stay ad-free.
- How to buy: Through technology partners or self-service in Ads Manager at ads.openai.com.
- What's next: OpenAI says future work will add "additional formats, objectives, buying options, and measurement capabilities," with no dates.
PPC Land names 11 of the 26 new countries: Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru in Latin America, and Nigeria, South Africa, Serbia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan elsewhere. The other 15 are not identified in the source. Check Ads Manager for your target markets.
What else changed in the same two weeks?
Search Engine Roundtable reported on October 30 on OpenAI's weekly advertiser email:
- Wider ads: A wider standard ad card that uses more of the conversation width on desktop. Existing campaigns and creative carry over, so no action is needed.
- Multi-image ads: In open beta for all advertisers.
- Shopify: The Shopify integration is now available internationally.
- Creative enhancements: Being auto-enabled.
That article is a summary of an email, not an OpenAI page. Treat the details as reported.
Does the expansion change how ChatGPT ads perform?
Nothing we read says so. OpenAI's announcement, as summarized, does not give results, prices or conversion data for the new markets. It does not describe formats for them either.
What we do have is context. Adthena, a search intelligence vendor, says it tracked 204,489 ChatGPT ad placements between June and September 2026, and that advertisers grew nearly six times in two months. It says apparel, consumer electronics and travel drove about 95% of placements. That is vendor data, and it covers earlier months and mostly earlier markets.
For a view of how ads behaved in the first markets, see OpenAI Ads, honestly: where they work and where they don't. For the European rollout, see ChatGPT Ads expands to 31 European countries.
How should you test a new ChatGPT Ads market?
This section is our opinion.
- Confirm availability first. Check Ads Manager for the country. PPC Land names only 11 of the 26.
- Pick one market. Choose the one where you already have a product, a currency, a shipping route and customer support. Do not spread a small budget over five countries.
- Match the audience to the plan limits. Ads reach only Free and Go users. If your buyers skew toward paid plans, you will not reach them.
- Localize the creative. Do not translate your US ad word for word. Have a native speaker read it, and check that the offer, currency and delivery promise make sense locally.
- Cap the spend and set an end date. Write the goal down: new customers, assisted conversions or efficiency. Decide in advance what result would make you stop, and what would make you add budget.
- Plan the read. ChatGPT ads often reach people early in a decision. Don't judge them on last click alone. See our incrementality testing guide.
- Check billing and tax. The announcement, as summarized, gives no eligibility rules, billing currencies or minimum spend for the new markets. Ask before you commit budget.
Should you launch in a new market before Black Friday?
Probably not as your main plan. A new market in the last three weeks before Black Friday leaves little time to learn. If you want to try one, treat it as a small, separate test and keep your core budget where you have history.
For the wider holiday plan, see Q4 and BFCM pacing with agents.
What should agencies and global brands check before they expand?
This section is our opinion. A new country is more than a new targeting setting.
- Approvals. Who signs off on a new market, and on the budget? Get it in writing before launch.
- Language and tone. Native review for every ad. A literal translation can misread or offend.
- Legal and policy. Check local advertising rules for your category. A product that is fine in one country may be restricted in another. The announcement, as summarized, gives no eligibility rules for the new markets, so ask OpenAI or your partner.
- Fulfillment and support. Can you deliver to, and support, someone in that country? An ad that leads to a product you can't ship is wasted spend.
- Reporting. Keep each country as its own line in reporting, so a weak market does not hide inside a strong one.
For brands already running ChatGPT ads, add the new market to your existing test plan instead of starting a separate process. Our post on automated optimization in ChatGPT Ads covers how changes to these campaigns are made and graded.
What don't we know yet?
- Pricing and minimums in the new markets. Not stated in the sources we read.
- Which formats are live outside the first markets. The announcement says more formats are coming, with no dates.
- Whether measurement is the same everywhere. OpenAI says measurement capabilities are on the roadmap.
- The other 15 countries. Not identified in the source.
What should you do next?
Pick one market, write the goal and set a cap. If you run ChatGPT Ads through Adlyse, each approved change ships with a hypothesis and is graded improved, hurt or neutral. Read our post on OpenAI Ads on Adlyse for how that works.
