For nearly two decades, digital advertising has been built on interruption. Banners cut across articles, videos pause for mid-rolls, and social feeds disguise promotions as posts. Even search ads, arguably the most ‘intent-led’ format still function as sponsored nudges layered over keyword queries.
OpenAI’s decision to test advertising within ChatGPT signals something very different. Ads here do not interrupt a scroll or sit beside content. They appear inside a conversation, alongside a user’s question, recommendation request, or problem statement. The placement alone alters the power dynamic. When a user asks, ‘Which laptop should I buy for under `80,000?’ or ‘What’s the best travel insurance for a Europe trip?’, they are not exploring - they are deciding.
For Indian advertisers, this shift opens a high-intent environment unlike anything they have dealt with before. But it also complicates the role of advertising itself. In a chat-first world, the line between assistance and promotion is no longer theoretical, it is structural.
One of the most profound implications of exploring ads inside ChatGPT is how it could redefine intent. Traditional digital metrics assume discovery: impressions, clicks, dwell time, but conversational AI operates further down the funnel.
As Prardhana Chillarige, Creative Director, Gozoop Creative, puts it, “Ads inside ChatGPT redefine high-intent from ‘searching’ to ‘deciding’, as the user is mid-problem, not mid-browse and arrives with context and urgency.”
This distinction matters deeply in India, where consumers increasingly use platforms not just to find information, but to validate decisions especially in high-consideration categories like electronics, education, finance, and travel. A chat interface collapses what used to be multiple touchpoints, search, reviews, comparisons, into a single conversational flow.
“This is a big shift from one-way advertising to assisted decision-making. For example, when a user asks an AI to help them evaluate a home loan: comparing interest rates, tenure options, EMI impact, and eligibility based on income stability, a relevant bank appearing as a suggested option, with a clear explanation of why it fits that specific profile, becomes part of the decision process rather than an interruption,” says Abhinav Pramod Pyati, Co-Founder and Business Head, Cutting Fillum Entertainment.
For brands, this means relevance will no longer be about keyword matching alone. India’s linguistic diversity and varied decision-making cues demand a nuanced understanding of intent. Multilingual prompts, colloquial phrasing, and culturally specific constraints (budget sensitivity, family influence, regional availability) all could shape how a recommendation lands.
If intent has shifted, performance measurement must follow. CTR, which was for a long time the industry’s default signal of success, becomes almost meaningless in a chat-first environment. A user may never ‘click’ an ad at all. Instead, they may adopt a recommendation, shortlist a brand, or act later, offline or on another platform.
“CTR is a ghost. If the AI solves the problem by mentioning your brand, the user doesn’t need to click to be influenced. Success must now be measured through ‘Answer Share’—how often you are the recommended hero—and ‘Attribution of Influence,’ tracking how a conversational mention drives preference over immediate traffic,” says Sajin Nair, Associate Vice President - Marketing, Innominds.
Chillarige argues that marketers need to reframe success entirely, “Marketers need to drop the CTR obsession and focus on outcome quality. How often the chat actually finishes (i.e. problem solved), how cleanly we nailed the user’s intent (i.e. recommendation adoption), and whether real conversions happened after the conversation.”
This will demand new attribution models, deeper integration between conversational platforms and commerce, and perhaps most challenging - patience. Indian advertisers, conditioned to chase immediate performance signals, may struggle with a format where influence is subtle and deferred.
Advertising inside ChatGPT also introduces a new ethical dimension. Conversations often feel private, personal, and emotionally neutral, even when they are not. Users may discuss career anxieties, financial stress, health concerns, or relationship issues in the same interface where an ad could theoretically appear.
This is where the risk of overreach is highest. In India, where trust deficits already plague digital advertising, one misplaced brand message can feel invasive rather than helpful. This distinction will be crucial as platforms scale. Without clear boundaries, the promise of high intent can quickly turn into user backlash.
“When personal or problem-solving queries become media inventory, brand presence turns invasive. It’s something advertising has normalised for years. If intelligence is used to make messages feel considered and inclusive rather than overly personalised, acceptance rises. Precision without restraint will backfire,” says Sudhir Nair, Founder and CEO, 21N78E Creative Labs. “There also has to be a clear difference between paid and free users. In a chat-first environment, trust isn’t just a metric. It’s the cost of entry,” he adds.
India’s digital advertising ecosystem operates under a unique mix of scale, sensitivity, and regulatory evolution. Users are increasingly aware of data misuse, even as consent frameworks remain uneven across platforms.
Advertising inside ChatGPT can heighten these concerns because it feels personal, even when it is not. The perception of being ‘listened to’ matters as much as the technical reality of data use.
Indian advertisers are therefore likely to demand strong safeguards before embracing conversational ads at scale. These include explicit opt-ins, robust consent management, and a clear separation between contextual targeting and behavioural tracking. Targeting based on the current conversation, rather than past activity, may become the ethical baseline.
Equally important will be hard exclusions, categories where advertising simply does not belong. Healthcare advice, financial guarantees, and gambling promotions sit in especially sensitive territory in India, both culturally and legally.
Are Indian brands ready? The answer, at least for now, is mixed.
Large, digitally mature brands, especially in tech, e-commerce, and travel sectors are better positioned to experiment. They already invest in vernacular content, CRM integration, and performance measurement beyond clicks. For them, ChatGPT ads may feel like a natural extension of search and recommendation ecosystems.
“In India conversations with AI often touch personal finances, health, careers, education and even family decisions. The line between helpful brand presence and intrusive promotion has to be very clear. Brands shouldn’t be pushing products, they should be earning relevance. The rule should be simple: If the brand doesn’t genuinely improve the answer, it shouldn’t appear in the conversation,” says Abhinav Pramod Pyati.
Smaller brands, however, may find the entry barriers high. Conversational relevance requires strategy, not just media spend. Without clear guardrails, the risk of sounding intrusive or worse, tone-deaf remains high.
There is also the question of creative discipline. In a chat-first world, brand voice must be helpful before it is persuasive. The ad cannot shout, it must assist.
For OpenAI, the experiment itself is a tightrope walk. ChatGPT’s credibility rests on perceived neutrality and usefulness. Advertising, if mishandled, could undermine both. The real test will not be adoption speed, but restraint. In a medium built on trust, relevance is the only currency that matters.
