ChatGPT Ads Credits: How the Offer Works for New Advertisers and How to Use It Effectively

Anyone who's been advertising for a few years is familiar with Google Ads welcome coupons: spend a certain amount, get an equal amount of credit. OpenAI has brought the same logic to ChatGPT, offering advertising credits to new ChatGPT Ads advertisers. It's a great way to test a new channel while halving the risk, as long as you know the conditions and don't waste them. Let's see how they work. ChatGPT Ads credits and how to use them well.

What are ChatGPT Ads credits?

ChatGPT Ads Credits are an advertising credit that OpenAI awards to new advertisers after an initial spend, to be used to pay for impressions and clicks on ChatGPT campaigns. On the OpenAI Ads official page the offer is presented like this: those who use ChatGPT Ads for the first time and spend 500 dollars receives $500 credit advertising. In practice, with an investment of 500, you have approximately 1,000 in advertising available.

The mechanism closely resembles that of the Google Ads advertising credit: it's not "free" money, it's a discount on the first test, tied to a minimum spend.

What conditions should I know?

The details of the offer (amount, required expenditure, period) are indicated in the promotional communication, while the general rules are in the OpenAI advertising credit terms, published in July 2026. The main points:

• 90-day maturity from issue, unless otherwise indicated: unused credit is lost.
• Credit is used just once and only on the designated ad account.
• The expense covered by the credit it doesn't count to reach the spending threshold required by the offer.
• It is not cumulative with other credits, coupons or discounts, is not transferable and is not redeemable for cash.
• The taxes (like VAT) are calculated on the amount net of the credit and remain your responsibility.
• OpenAI may modify or discontinue the offering and revoke credits in the event of abuse or policy violations.

Promotion terms and deadlines change frequently.: Before opening an account, always check the active offer on the official page.

How to Get ChatGPT Ads Credits, Step-by-Step

1. Open an Ads Manager account from ads.openai.com, as a new advertiser.
2. Complete the verification of the advertising account and billing: it may take a few days.
3. Create your first campaign targeting Italy and a budget consistent with the offering's spending threshold.
4. Reach the required expenditure within the times indicated by the promotion.
5. Check the accreditation in the panel and plan how to use it within 90 days.

If you have never created a campaign on ChatGPT, you can find all the steps in our guide. ChatGPT Ads Manager.

How to use credits for a test that actually matters

The most common risk with welcome credits is using them "to see what happens," without a goal. With $500 spent and $500 in credit, you have a budget that, at the daily minimum of $25 indicated by OpenAI for USD campaigns, covers approximately 40 days of advertising: enough for a serious test, if set up well.

Here's how we set it up:

• A measurable goal: contacts, quote requests, sales. Choose CPC, not CPM, if you need sales results.
• Two or three ad groups, each one on a different customer need, with context hints specific.
• Dedicated landing pages, consistent with the question the user just asked the AI.
• Full tracking: Conversions in Ads Manager and UTM parameters to read data in GA4.
• A final comparison with the channels you already use, on the cost per qualified lead.

If you want to understand in advance how the channel is positioned compared to classic research, read our comparison between ChatGPT Ads and Google Ads.

Mistakes that waste credits

• Let them expire: 90 days goes by quickly, especially if your account verification takes longer.
• Point to the homepage: the user arrives from a specific conversation and cannot find the answer.
• A single generic ad group: The system doesn't understand which conversations you're relevant to.
• No measurement: at the end of the test you know how much you spent, but not what you got.
• Turn everything off after a few days: Sufficient data is needed to judge a new channel.

In summary

ChatGPT Ads credits are a concrete opportunity for Try advertising on ChatGPT with half the risk. However, they should be treated like a real budget: clear objectives, structure based on needs, dedicated landing pages, and measurement. This way, at the end of the process, you won't just have used up a credit: you'll have understood if the channel is working for your company. For a complete overview of the channel, start with our guide to ChatGPT Ads.