The brands testing ChatGPT ads early are a useful signal in themselves, since none of them are experimenting for the sake of it. Looking at who's actually there, and why, says more about who the format fits than any spec sheet does.
Who's actually running ads
Target has reported 40% month-over-month traffic growth to Target.com attributed to ChatGPT, a meaningful enough number that it's shaped how the retailer talks about the channel publicly. Albertsons ran seasonal campaigns timed to Valentine's Day. Williams-Sonoma tested the format across its portfolio, including West Elm and Pottery Barn. These aren't small pilots from brands with nothing to lose. They're established retailers treating it as a real channel worth measuring.
The numbers behind why they're there
Criteo's own referral data found that traffic sent from ChatGPT and similar AI platforms converts at roughly 1.5 times the rate of other referral channels, which lines up with the broader pattern of ChatGPT ads converting well even at a lower click-through rate than search or social. The most-cited real-spend case study, a 15-day, $60,000 campaign, returned $89,000, a 1.49x blended ROAS. Neither number should be read as a guarantee, but together they explain why brands with existing scale are willing to commit real budget to a channel that's barely a year old.
The categories that keep showing up
OpenAI's own stated early-access focus is narrower than the broader conversation around the platform suggests: lifestyle and household goods, local services, travel and experiences, and digital products or education. Retail and e-commerce are the clearest fit within that, which tracks with the platform's dedicated product-feed ad formats. Industry analysts also point to technology, automotive and healthcare services as well suited to the format, generally because they involve research-heavy decisions that naturally show up inside a conversation, though those categories sit closer to OpenAI's restricted list and are worth confirming eligibility for directly.
What the early movers have in common
Each of these brands already has strong retail or brand recognition, plus a genuine content and product-data foundation for OpenAI's systems to work with. That's consistent with the broader pattern: the format seems to reward brands that already show up credibly, rather than brands trying to establish credibility for the first time through paid placement alone.
What this means for timing
None of this means every brand should be in market yet. It does mean waiting indefinitely has a real cost, since the brands moving early are building measurement history and creative learnings competitors will eventually have to catch up on. The more useful question isn't whether the big retailers are right to test it. It's whether your brand looks more like Target walking in with an existing audience, or a brand that still needs the organic groundwork done first.
The brands testing ChatGPT ads early aren't gambling. They're the ones who already had something worth being recommended for.
Not sure which category you fall into? Start with whether your brand should advertise on ChatGPT yet.