Industries
ChatGPT Ads by industry
Whether ChatGPT Ads can work for you starts with one question: does OpenAI’s ad policy allow your category in your market? Here’s where each industry stands, and what to check beyond the policy.
At a glance
| Guides | Ecommerce, local services, law firms, B2B and SaaS |
| In scope | Consumer goods, local services, travel, digital products |
| Restricted | Finance, health and legal, mostly US only |
| Not allowed | Gambling, alcohol, adult and political ads |
Guides
Industry guides
Retail
Ecommerce and Shopify
Which store categories are allowed, product ads from a feed, the Shopify app and tracking sales back to each ad.
Local
Local and home services
Which services are allowed, targeting your service area by city or postal code, and tracking leads and bookings.
Legal · US
Law firms
OpenAI’s licensing rule, keeping ads inside your jurisdictions and what legal ads can say.
Software
B2B and SaaS
Who you can and can’t reach, trial and demo tracking, and running campaigns from HubSpot.
Any industry
Is it worth testing?
What OpenAI has published about results, what it hasn’t, and how to run a test that gives you an answer.
Not listed?
Ask about your category
Tell us what you sell and where. We’ll check it against the policy and the markets before you spend anything.
Policy
Where each industry stands
OpenAI says ads are focused for now on a limited set of consumer categories, and it expects to add more as its review systems mature.
| Industry | Where it stands | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Retail and ecommerce | In scope. Household and consumer goods are among the categories ads focus on. Alcohol, tobacco, adult products, weapons and counterfeits are out. See the ecommerce guide. | Ad policies |
| Local and home services | In scope. Local services are one of the early focus categories. See the local services guide. | Ad policies |
| Travel and entertainment | In scope. An early focus category. A casino resort can advertise stays or entertainment, as long as gambling isn’t the focus. | Ad policies |
| Digital products and education | In scope. An early focus category. | Ad policies |
| Software | Allowed. OpenAI’s eligibility table allows even health and financial software in every market. But people who use ChatGPT through Business or Enterprise plans never see ads. See the B2B and SaaS guide. | Help Center |
| Legal services | US only. Allowed when the advertiser is licensed where the ad is shown. Prohibited outside the US. See the law firm guide. | Ad policies |
| Financial services | Restricted. In the US, deposit accounts, auto loans and insurance are allowed, while credit cards, mortgages and investing are limited to select approved advertisers. Outside the US, most are restricted or not allowed. Credit repair, debt relief and payday loans are never allowed. | Help Center |
| Health and wellness | Restricted. In the US, consumer medical devices, dietary supplements and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures are allowed; health insurance, hospitals and medical testing are limited to select approved advertisers; prescription medicines, online pharmacies and telehealth aren’t allowed. Outside the US, only health software is allowed. | Help Center |
| Real estate | Limited. Individual listings for rent or sale are prohibited. Ads can link to a listings platform if neither the ad nor the landing page references a specific listing. | Ad policies |
| Recruitment | Limited. Individual job listings are prohibited, with the same exception for listings platforms. | Ad policies |
| Not allowed | Gambling, alcohol and tobacco, recreational drugs, adult content, political ads, weapons and counterfeit goods. | Ad policies |
Beyond policy
Three more questions for any industry
- Do your buyers research in conversation? ChatGPT Ads reach people while they explain what they need and weigh options, so considered purchases tend to fit better than impulse buys. That’s our view.
- Will they see ads at all? Only people on the Free and Go plans, or using ChatGPT logged out, see ads. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts don’t.
- Can you buy where you’re based? Self-serve buying needs your business to be based in one of the 63 countries on OpenAI’s list.
Source for who sees ads: Ads in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, checked 27 September 2026.
Related
Tracker
Policy and eligibility tracker
Every policy version since March 2026, and what each one changed.