EXPLAINER · 8 MIN READ
ChatGPT ads targeting: context hints, locations, devices and audiences
By the Seamwire team · Updated
THE SHORT ANSWER
ChatGPT ads are not targeted with keywords. OpenAI's system chooses when to show an ad from the context and intent of the conversation, the ad's own title, description and landing page, and the context hints you write. Context hints are plain descriptions of the conversations where your product is relevant. On top of that you can set hard limits: locations, down to city or postal code where available, the device or app, and customer lists to include or exclude. The documentation offers no targeting by age, gender or interest.
What are context hints in ChatGPT ads?
Context hints are short, plain-language descriptions you add to an ad group to tell OpenAI which conversations your ads belong in. OpenAI's help centre says they describe the conversations, topics or keywords where your product or service may be relevant.
They are guidance, not rules. OpenAI states that hints help guide ad matching, but they are not exact-match keywords and do not guarantee delivery in specific conversations. Its developer documentation puts it the same way: context hints supply context rather than hard keyword eligibility.
If you manage ads through OpenAI's API, a new list of hints replaces the old one when you update an ad group, so always send the full list you want to keep.
How to write good context hints
Think about what a person is trying to work out when your product becomes useful, and describe that situation. These are illustrations, not OpenAI's own examples.
- Write one idea per hint, in a full phrase.
- Group related hints in one ad group, with an ad that speaks to that situation.
- Cover the questions people ask before they know which product they want, not only product names.
- Review the results and rewrite hints that bring views but no clicks.
| Business | Weak hint | Stronger hint |
|---|---|---|
| Furniture store in Bengaluru | sofa | Someone choosing a sofa bed for a small apartment and comparing sizes and delivery |
| Online course provider | data science course | A working professional asking how to move into data analytics without a degree |
| Home cleaning service | cleaning | Someone asking how often a home needs deep cleaning or what it involves |
| Accounting software | GST software | A small business owner asking how to send GST-compliant invoices and track payments |
| Boutique hotel | hotel Goa | A couple planning a quiet three-day trip to Goa and asking where to stay away from the crowds |
Location targeting in ChatGPT ads
Location is set on the campaign. You can include and exclude countries, and for most campaigns you can go further: OpenAI's help centre says you can target supported states or regions, cities, markets and postal codes where available. Availability varies by country, so search for the place during setup.
Two limits matter. Campaigns built from a product feed can be targeted only by country. And some new self-service accounts can at first advertise only in their home country; choosing other countries does not override that, and OpenAI does not say how much history an account needs before the limit lifts.
Device and platform targeting
You can choose where in ChatGPT a campaign runs. Ads Manager offers five platforms: the Android app, Android web, desktop web, the iOS app and iOS web. If you choose nothing, the campaign runs on all of them. Reports can be broken down by the same five, which is the simplest way to see whether phone or desktop users respond better.
Custom audiences: your own customer lists
You can upload a list of customers or prospects, as emails or phone numbers, and OpenAI matches them to ChatGPT users. A matched list can be used three ways.
- The matched count is what matters, and it is always smaller than the number of rows uploaded.
- For most small businesses, exclusion is the useful one: it stops you paying to reach people who already buy from you.
- OpenAI advises against custom audiences for campaigns aimed at the EEA or Switzerland while ad personalisation is unavailable there.
| Use | What it does | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|
| Include | Shows the campaign only to people on the list | 25,000 matched users |
| Exclude | Stops the campaign reaching people on the list, for example existing customers | No minimum |
| Bid multiplier | Bids more or less for people on the list while still reaching everyone else | 25,000 matched users |
What you cannot target in ChatGPT ads
- Exact keywords. Hints are not match types.
- Age, gender or interests. OpenAI's targeting documentation describes none of these.
- A specific conversation or a specific user.
- Sensitive conversations. OpenAI keeps ads away from topics such as mental health and politics, whatever your hints say.
- Under-18s and people on paid plans without ads. They are not shown ads at all.
How OpenAI decides which ad to show
OpenAI says its system selects and delivers ads based on expected relevance and outcomes. The signals it lists are the context and intent of the current conversation, the ad's landing page, title and description, your context hints, and, where the user has ad personalisation switched on, signals from their wider use of ChatGPT.
The practical lesson is that the ad and the landing page are part of the targeting. A vague ad pointed at a generic home page gives the system little to match on. A specific ad, with a landing page that says the same thing, gives it a lot.
Questions people ask
Can you target keywords in ChatGPT ads?
No. You write context hints that describe relevant conversations. OpenAI says hints guide matching but are not exact-match keywords and do not guarantee that an ad appears in a particular conversation.
Can ChatGPT ads target a city?
Yes, for most campaigns. You can target supported states, cities, markets and postal codes where available. Product-feed campaigns are limited to country-level targeting.
Does ChatGPT ads have negative keywords?
Not for everyone. OpenAI's help centre mentions Negative Phrases as an option for qualifying advertisers with narrow brand-safety needs. Separately, OpenAI itself keeps ads away from sensitive and unsafe conversations.
How many context hints should an ad group have?
OpenAI's public pages do not recommend a number. Start with a focused set that describes one buying situation, see which bring clicks and conversions, and add or rewrite from there.
Can I retarget website visitors with ChatGPT ads?
The documented route is a custom audience built from identifiers you upload, such as customer emails or phone numbers. Including an audience needs at least 25,000 matched users, which puts it out of reach for most small sites. Excluding a list has no minimum.