Just six weeks after OpenAI’s ad manager became widely available in the US, the AI company has now expanded its product to the UK, in beta.
The move makes the UK the fifth market to have access to the self-service platform, after the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The mechanism is the same as in the US, with general availability to advertisers in approved categories and their ads passing policy review. Although the UK was only included in the trial six weeks ago, along with Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Mexico, advertisers can now sign up, add payment information, set budgets, bids and tempo, upload ads, launch and manage campaigns and view performance on the portal.
Enabling self-service in the UK will rapidly expand demand for OpenAI advertising, but increasing supply to keep up with growth will be a bigger challenge given the tighter regulatory environment, according to Claire Holubowskyj, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis.
“This will strengthen pricing in the near term, although ultimately performance will depend on the trust that can be built in the product and its attribution,” he said. “Following the same roadmap as the US highlights that their current priority is to build infrastructure scale first, leaving complex questions about models and formats for later.”
Additionally, UK advertisers now have access to cost per click (CPC) buying, in addition to the CPM-based model that has been available since launch. And an OpenAI blog post states that they hope to “support more ways for advertisers to bid on and optimize the outcomes they care most about.”
It’s no surprise that OpenAI chose to expand its ads manager and more functionality to the UK so quickly. Adthena CMO Ashley Fletcher previously told Digiday that demand for ChatGPT advertising from clients in the UK was already high. The self-service platform helps OpenAI meet that demand without having to scale its sales and support teams at the same rate, while opening the door to smaller advertisers who might not previously get the value of a managed services relationship.
For now, the US remains the fastest growing market in ChatGPT ad trials, which have grown rapidly over the past four months. What started with one CPM purchasing option has now expanded to include CPC and cost per action (CPA) — all available in self-serve ads manager.
Timing is also important.
The UK expansion and addition of CPC comes just days before Cannes Lions, where OpenAI’s global head of advertising Dave Dugan is expected to meet with agencies, brands and ad tech partners behind closed doors. With broader geographic reach, and additional purchasing functionality now available, companies can now attend the largest industry gathering on the French Riviera with a more mature offering.
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