ChatGPT ads can now target your customer list.

ChatGPT has quietly become an ad channel. In July, OpenAI added custom audiences to ChatGPT Ads. Advertisers can now upload their own lists of customer emails and phone numbers, then choose to show ads to those people, keep ads away from them, or bid higher when one of them is using ChatGPT.

If you have run Google Ads, you know this feature already. It works the same way as Google Customer Match, and it is the first ChatGPT targeting option built on your own data rather than on what people type.

Six months from launch to customer lists

OpenAI has moved fast. Here is how the channel has grown since the start of the year:

• FebruaryChatGPT Ads launched in the US, shown to people on the Free and Go plans.
• MarchThe pilot expanded to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
• April and MayA self-serve Ads Manager opened, cost-per-click bidding arrived and the minimum spend was dropped. The UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea went live.
• JuneCost-per-action bidding was switched on, so advertisers can pay for results instead of clicks.
• JulyCustom audiences arrived, letting advertisers target, exclude or bid up on their own customer lists.

The catch is reach

Ads only show to adults on the Free and Go plans. Everyone paying for Plus, Pro or Business sees no ads at all. So even a perfectly matched list will only reach part of your customers inside ChatGPT, and often the part that is least likely to be decision makers at work.

The practical rule of thumb from early advertisers is that a list needs to be big and clean before it is worth testing, around 25,000 contacts or more. Smaller lists shrink quickly once you remove everyone who is not on a free plan or cannot be matched.

Can South African brands use it yet?

Not yet. As of the July update, ChatGPT Ads are live in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea. South Africa is not on the list. Going by how quickly markets have been added this year, we would not be surprised to see it arrive within the next year, but nothing has been announced.

That gives South African brands time to prepare properly instead of scrambling when it lands.

What we would do now

1. Clean up your customer list, with consent. Under POPIA you need a lawful basis to use customer details for marketing, and uploading them to an ad platform counts. Check how each contact was collected, record consent properly, and remove anyone who has opted out. A clean list works on Google, Meta and ChatGPT alike.
2. Start building first-party data on purpose. Email sign-ups, WhatsApp opt-ins, accounts and loyalty programmes all feed the lists these platforms now reward. A proper CRM setup makes this automatic instead of a spreadsheet job.
3. Practise on Google and Meta first. Customer Match and Meta custom audiences use the same thinking. If you learn now which segments respond, which to exclude and how much to bid up, you will be ready on day one in ChatGPT. Our paid growth team sets these up every week.
4. Get recommended for free while you wait. Ads only reach free users. Everyone else, including paying professionals, only sees what ChatGPT recommends on its own. That is where AI visibility comes in. Run our free AI visibility check to see whether ChatGPT names your business today.

Elsewhere in AI and advertising

A few other moves this month that are worth knowing about:

• Google AI Mode now connects to apps. Users in the US can link supported apps so AI Mode can hand tasks straight to services like Instacart, Canva and YouTube Music without leaving Search. Search is becoming a place where things get done, not just found.
• Apple Maps ads are getting closer. Local advertisers can now see who will and will not be allowed to buy placements when Apple Maps ads launch in the US and Canada. Home services trades, bail bonds and cryptocurrency ATMs are excluded, and campaigns run through Apple Business rather than the existing Apple Ads interface.
• X is testing Grok inside its Ads Manager. Some advertisers will find an AI assistant built into the buying workflow, giving advice on approach and creative before a campaign goes live, along with new tooltips.
• TikTok Shop is piloting a managed service. Sellers can hand marketing, ad buying, creator recruitment and content production to TikTok itself for a flat fee plus a cut of every sale. That puts TikTok in direct competition with the agencies that have run TikTok Shop for brands since 2023.

Tools mentioned

These came up in the newsletter this piece is based on. We have not been paid to include them, and some are the newsletter's own referral links.

• HubSpot 2026 Essential Apps for Marketers: a collection of 14 apps across creative, ads and events, built so campaign context follows every handoff.
• Granola: an AI meeting notetaker. This link doubles the length of the free trial.
• Wynter: B2B marketers can get paid up to $50 for short feedback surveys of two to ten minutes.

Source: this article is based on reporting in The Keyword by Kole Ogundipe of Wilow, published 24 July 2026, with our own view on what it means for South African brands. Read more from The Keyword.