How to Create a ChatGPT Ads Account in 2026
Henry Purchase
Co-Founder
It took me three days to get my ChatGPT Ads account approved.
It would have taken longer if I had clicked the wrong button on screen four, which is exactly what most agencies are doing right now and then wondering why they cannot get back in.
Here is the full sign-up flow, screen by screen, with screenshots. Five steps, three things you cannot change later, one trapdoor for agencies, and what to do during the verification wait so you can launch on day one.
Key takeaways
- The ChatGPT Ads Manager lives at
ads.openai.com. Sign-up takes about 10 minutes; verification takes 3 to 7 days. - You need a registered US business with an EIN to create an account today. UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico are rolling out in the coming weeks.
- If you click "I act on behalf of clients" during sign-up, you cannot create an account. Agencies have to be invited by a client who created theirs first.
- Once verified, you land inside the beta Ads Manager with seven sections in the left-hand nav and full API access.
- One detail you cannot change later: currency, time zone, and advertiser type. Pick carefully.
What you need before you start
Have these four things on hand before you click into the sign-up flow. The application asks for them in order, and you cannot go back to fix mistakes once you have moved past a step.
- Your legal business name, exactly as it appears on tax documents
- Your business website URL (must be HTTPS and resolve to a real page, not a holding page)
- Your favicon in a standard image format
- Your business EIN if you are a US business, or the equivalent tax ID for your country once your market opens
If any of these are not ready, sort them first. The sign-up flow does not have a "save and come back later" option.
Step 1: Go to ads.openai.com and click Start Now
This is the front door to the entire platform.
The page itself sells the platform as conversational, context-driven advertising. Skip the marketing copy. Click Start Now and move on.
Step 2: Tell ChatGPT about your business
After you click Start Now, you land on the business details screen.
Fill in:
- Legal business name — has to match your tax documents
- Business website — your main domain
- Favicon — upload your site's favicon
- Industry — pick from OpenAI's dropdown of 400+ categories
A note on industry selection: pick the closest match even if it is not perfect. You can adjust some campaign-level targeting later, but the industry you pick affects what categories OpenAI surfaces your ads in.
Step 3: Confirm your account details
This is where most people hit their first wall.
You will fill in:
- Country — currently US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand only. UK, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico are launching in the coming weeks (OpenAI confirmed 7 May 2026)
- Currency — pick the currency you want to be billed in. This cannot be changed later
- Time zone — pick the time zone for your reporting. This cannot be changed later
- Advertiser type — Business or Individual. This cannot be changed later
The currency, time zone, and advertiser type are permanent. If you set up the wrong one, your only path is closing the account and starting again. Pick carefully.
If you are outside the available countries, you cannot get an account today. The workaround some operators are trying (using a US-based holding company) will fail at the next step because the platform asks for an EIN tied to a verifiable US business. There is no shortcut.
Step 4: The agency question (the part people get wrong)
After the country and currency fields, OpenAI asks one of the most important questions in the entire flow.
The two options are:
- I run ads for my own business
- I act on behalf of other organizations and clients
If you are an agency or a freelancer planning to run ChatGPT Ads for clients, do not click the second option. If you do, OpenAI shows you this message:
This is the part most agency owners are not expecting. You cannot create a ChatGPT Ads account on behalf of a client today. Your client has to create their own account, get verified, then invite your team in from inside the Ads Manager.
The agency workaround
If you are an agency and want to get ahead while waiting for client invites, create an account for your own agency business first. Run a small $500 test campaign on your own brand. You will learn the platform inside out before your first client invite lands.
That is what every agency winning at ChatGPT Ads right now did before their first client engagement. The platform is too new and changes too often to learn on a client's budget. Learn on your own.
Step 5: Business verification and EIN
Once you confirm you are running ads for your own business, the next screen asks for the verification documents.
You will need to add:
- Business address — has to be a real, registered address
- EIN (US Employer Identification Number) — for US businesses
- For other markets when they open: equivalent business registration number (Companies House for UK, ABN for Australia, etc.)
Once you submit, you hit the review screen.
OpenAI verifies every business manually. The review notice flags that volume is high. Realistic verification times I have seen across the FutureProof community:
- 3 days for clean US LLCs with a verifiable web presence
- 5 to 7 days for newer businesses or businesses with less online history
- Longer if there is anything ambiguous about your tax ID or business address
A contact email is shown on this screen (ads-support@openai.com). Use it if your application sits for more than 7 days.
What happens after you are approved
You get an email. You log into ads.openai.com. You land inside the beta Ads Manager.
The beta Ads Manager has seven sections in the left nav. Here is what each one does, in order:
- Ad Manager — your home screen for live campaigns. Create new campaigns manually or via bulk CSV upload
- Settings — account info, billing connection, and where you generate API keys
- Users — invite team members. Also where clients add their agency
- Change history — audit log of every change made on the account
- Conversions — the conversion pixel and conversion events
- Billing — payment method and invoices
- Documentation — full OpenAI API and tracking docs
The most important section after account creation is Conversions. If you launch a campaign without setting up tracking first, you will be flying blind. There is a pixel pitfall in the default OpenAI code that catches most people out — the ChatGPT Ads Course covers it in detail.
Bulk editing limitation to know about
The Ads Manager is beta. One specific limitation worth flagging: there is no in-app bulk edit for campaigns. If you want to change settings across multiple campaigns at once, you have to export to a CSV, edit the spreadsheet, and reimport. Clunky, but workable for now. OpenAI is shipping changes weekly, so this is likely to be addressed soon.
API access is live
If you are technical or working with a team that is, the Settings tab gives you API key generation. The OpenAI developer center has the full API docs including the conversion pixel SDK (OAIQ, currently v0.1.3) and the Conversions API for server-side event tracking.
For most operators running ads themselves, the pixel is enough. For teams running ads at scale or anyone building tooling around the platform, the Conversions API is what you want. It is more reliable than the pixel alone, especially with browser tracking restrictions tightening every year.
This is the layer Focal is built on. We pull data from the ChatGPT Ads API into a chat interface inside Claude or ChatGPT, so you can ask "analyse my current campaigns and identify improvement opportunities" instead of clicking through the dashboard manually.
What to do during the verification wait
Most people stare at the review screen for 3 to 7 days. Better use of that time:
- Install the conversion pixel on your site
- Build a dedicated landing page for your first campaign. Mobile-first. One offer. Clean form
- Draft your context hints — the targeting layer that replaces keywords on ChatGPT Ads
- Write three ad variations of your first creative. Headlines under 30 characters, descriptions 15-19 words
- Set up UTM parameters following the convention
utm_source=chatgpt&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[name]&utm_content=[variant]
If you finish all five before your verification email lands, you can ship your first campaign within an hour of approval instead of starting from scratch.
What if you are outside the available countries
If you are in the UK, Japan, South Korea, Brazil or Mexico, you are days to weeks away from access. OpenAI confirmed on 7 May 2026 that these markets are launching in the coming weeks.
If you are anywhere else, you are likely months away. International rollout follows a pattern: English-speaking markets first, then large advertising markets in Europe and Asia, then the rest. Most digital channels (Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok Ads) hit broad international availability inside 18 months of US launch. Expect ChatGPT Ads to follow a similar curve.
In the meantime, the highest-leverage things you can do are:
- Join the FutureProof community where 350+ operators are sharing what is working
- Watch the YouTube channel for weekly updates
- Get on the Focal waitlist so you get notified the moment connectors are live for your market
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to create a ChatGPT Ads account?
Filling in the sign-up form takes 10 to 15 minutes. Verification takes 3 to 7 days based on what we are seeing across the FutureProof community right now. Some businesses are verified in 24 hours. Some take longer if there is anything ambiguous about the tax ID or business address.
Can I create a ChatGPT Ads account if I am not in the US?
As of 14 May 2026, no. The platform is only open to businesses registered in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The UK, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico are launching in the coming weeks per OpenAI's 7 May 2026 announcement. If you are in any other market, you are likely months away. There is no workaround that bypasses the EIN/tax ID check.
Can an agency create an account on behalf of a client?
No. If you click the agency option during sign-up, OpenAI blocks you and tells you the client has to create the account first. The workaround is to create an account for your own agency business, learn the platform, and wait for the first client invite.
Is there a minimum spend to advertise on ChatGPT?
No. OpenAI dropped the $50,000 minimum on 5 May 2026 when they opened the self-serve Ads Manager to all US businesses. A practical minimum to learn from is $500 to $2,000 over your first two weeks. Below that, you do not have enough data to read.
What is the difference between the agency option and inviting an agency later?
The agency option in sign-up is a one-way door — pick it and you cannot create the account yourself. If you want an agency to run your ads, create the account as a business yourself first, then invite the agency from the Users section once you are inside. That is the supported path.
Do I need to verify my business before I can launch ads?
Yes. Business verification is mandatory and manual. OpenAI checks your tax ID, business address, and web presence before letting you spend money on the platform. There is no fast-track.
What if my business is in a restricted category?
OpenAI restricts certain categories: dating, alcohol, tobacco, healthcare, financial services, legal services, gambling, and political content. If your business falls in one of these, you may still be able to create an account but your ads will go through additional review or be blocked outright. Check the OpenAI ad policies before applying.
Can I change my country or currency after sign-up?
No. Country, currency, time zone, and advertiser type are permanent. If any of these are wrong, you have to close the account and start a new one. Pick carefully.
My question is not listed here.
Drop it in the FutureProof community or email support@tryfocal.com.