Top 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a ChatGPT Ads Agency
Key Takeaways
- Ask whether the agency has genuine ChatGPT Ads experience.
- Check who controls the advertising account, data and creative assets.
- Look for a strategy based on intent, objectives and measurable outcomes.
- Understand agency fees versus advertising spend.
- Avoid guarantees around leads, ROAS or placement.
Choosing a ChatGPT Ads agency requires more than checking general digital marketing experience. ChatGPT Ads is still developing, and agencies need to understand conversational intent, campaign objectives, measurement, bidding and emerging ad formats.
OpenAI began rolling out ChatGPT Ads across Malaysia and several other Southeast Asian markets on September 23, 2026. Malaysian businesses can now access self-service Ads Manager, while agencies and technology partners can also help manage campaigns.
That makes agency selection especially important. A strong partner should be able to explain not only how the platform works, but also why it suits your business, what success should look like and how campaigns will be measured over time.
Here are the 10 questions worth asking before you commit your budget.
| Question to Ask | What You Want to Hear | Warning Sign |
| Have you managed ChatGPT Ads campaigns? | Specific platform experience | Only general AI experience |
| How will you build our strategy? | Audience, intent and objectives | Generic templates |
| How do you choose audiences and contexts? | Relevance and customer intent | Keyword-only thinking |
| What will you measure? | Conversions and business outcomes | Impressions alone |
| How will you track conversions? | Ads Manager, UTMs and analytics | No attribution plan |
| How often will campaigns be optimised? | Structured testing | “Set it and forget it” |
| What exactly are we paying for? | Clear fees and ad spend | Unclear bundled pricing |
| Who controls the account and data? | Your company retains access | Agency lock-in |
| How will results be reported? | Reports tied to objectives | Vanity metrics |
| How does ChatGPT Ads fit our wider marketing? | Complementary strategy | “Replace other channels” |
Why These 10 Questions?
These questions were chosen because they cover the areas most likely to affect campaign quality, transparency and long-term results.
Together, they help you assess whether an agency understands the ChatGPT Ads platform, can build a strategy around customer intent, has a clear approach to tracking and optimisation, and is transparent about pricing, reporting and account access.
They also help expose common red flags early, such as vague AI claims, weak measurement, unclear fees or promises an agency cannot realistically guarantee.
Read More: How to Buy Ads on ChatGPT: A Simple Malaysian Guide
1. Have You Actually Managed ChatGPT Ads Campaigns?
There is a difference between being an AI marketing agency and having practical ChatGPT Ads experience.
An agency may understand AI SEO, generative engine optimisation or automation without having managed paid campaigns inside ChatGPT Ads.
Ask the agency to explain:
- Which campaign objectives it has used
- How it structures campaigns and ad groups
- How it approaches bidding and budgets
- Which metrics it monitors
- How it tests ads and landing pages
You do not need confidential client data. You need evidence that the agency understands the platform.
OpenAI’s Ads Manager lets advertisers set campaign objectives and budgets, create ads, monitor performance and optimise campaigns.
A useful answer should include actual processes rather than vague claims about being an “AI-first” agency.
Warning sign: the agency mainly talks about AI SEO or getting mentioned in ChatGPT answers instead of paid advertising.
2. How Will You Build Our ChatGPT Ads Strategy?
A good agency should understand your products, customers, margins, sales cycle, market and campaign objectives before launching.
A strong strategy should cover:
- Target audience
- Customer intent
- Campaign goals
- Budget allocation
- Ad messaging
- Landing pages
- Conversion actions
- Testing
- Measurement
The agency should also explain why ChatGPT Ads makes sense for your business and how it fits alongside channels such as Google Ads, Meta Ads, SEO and email.
That matters because not every business will use ChatGPT Ads in the same way. A B2B service with a long sales cycle may need a different campaign structure and conversion strategy from an ecommerce brand focused on direct purchases.
Simply saying “AI advertising is growing” is not a strategy.
3. How Do You Decide Which Users and Conversations We Should Reach?
ChatGPT Ads should not be treated like a conventional keyword platform.
OpenAI says its advertising system can consider the context of a user’s current conversation when determining relevant ads. Broader signals may also contribute when personalisation is enabled.
A capable agency should understand the difference between users who are:
- Learning
- Comparing solutions
- Researching products
- Evaluating providers
- Looking for prices
- Preparing to purchase
High volume does not automatically mean high value. A smaller group actively comparing solutions may be more commercially valuable than a broad informational audience.
Ask the agency how it distinguishes between early-stage research and stronger commercial intent. That answer should influence targeting, messaging, bidding and budget allocation.
4. What Metrics Will You Use to Measure Success?
If an agency focuses mainly on impressions, ask what happens after the impression.
ChatGPT Ads Manager reports metrics including impressions, clicks, spend, CTR, average CPC, average CPM and conversions.
Useful metrics may include:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- CTR
- CPC
- CPM
- Conversions
- Cost per conversion
- Qualified enquiries
- Lead quality
- Revenue, where attribution is available
The right KPIs depend on your objective.
An ecommerce business may focus on purchases and revenue, while a B2B company may care more about qualified enquiries.
Agree on success metrics before spending begins. Otherwise, poor results can easily be reframed after the fact using whichever metric happens to look strongest.
5. How Will You Track Leads and Conversions?
Clicks are easy to count. Understanding what they produce is harder.
Your tracking setup may include:
- ChatGPT Ads conversion measurement
- UTM parameters
- Google Analytics 4
- Form submissions
- Ecommerce purchases
- Phone or WhatsApp enquiries
- CRM tracking
OpenAI supports conversion measurement through tools including its Pixel and Conversions API, as well as static tracking parameters such as UTMs.
A Google Analytics 4 connection is also being offered in beta to eligible advertisers, with parts of the integration still being developed.
Without proper tracking, an agency may optimise for clicks rather than business results.
For example, 500 low-cost clicks are not necessarily better than 100 clicks that generate several strong leads. The agency should be able to explain how it will connect ad activity with actual enquiries, purchases or revenue where possible.
6. How Often Will You Optimise Our Campaigns?
Your agency should expect to test and adjust campaigns rather than launch them and leave them untouched.
Optimisation may involve:
- Messaging
- Creative assets
- Bids
- Budgets
- Objectives
- Landing pages
- Conversion performance
- Audience relevance
ChatGPT Ads currently supports Views campaigns bought on a CPM basis, Clicks campaigns bought on a CPC basis and a Conversions objective for eligible advertisers.
Advertisers can use manual maximum bids, while eligible ad groups may also use OpenAI’s automated Maximize results bid strategy.
The agency should be able to explain what it will test, why and how it judges success. A good optimisation process should also avoid changing too many things at once. Structured testing makes it easier to understand what actually improved or hurt performance.
7. What Exactly Am I Paying For?
Agency pricing may include fixed management fees, spend-based fees or custom packages.
Ask for a clear breakdown of:
- Agency management fees
- Advertising spend
- Creative production
- Landing page work
- Tracking setup
- Reporting
- Strategy
- Additional technology costs
Also ask whether media spend goes directly to the advertising platform or passes through the agency.
A package advertised as “RM5,000 ChatGPT Ads” is too vague unless you know how much is media spend and how much is management.
Get the breakdown in writing.
8. Who Controls the ChatGPT Ads Account and Campaign Data?
Ideally, the advertiser account should be created for your business, with your company retaining appropriate administrative access.
Your agency can then be invited with the level of access it needs.
OpenAI Ads Manager supports Admin, Member and Viewer roles.
Your company should retain appropriate access to:
- The advertising account
- Campaign history
- Billing and account settings
- Performance data
- Creative assets
- Conversion settings
- Analytics integrations
Ask what happens if you change agencies.
Can another agency take over? Will you keep access to campaign history and data? These answers should be clear before signing.
This is especially important if the agency also manages billing, tracking or creative assets on your behalf.
9. What Will Your Reports Actually Show?
A long report is not necessarily a useful report.
Good reporting should answer:
What happened? Why did it happen? What should we do next?
Useful reporting may include:
- Spend
- Impressions
- Clicks
- CTR
- CPC
- CPM
- Conversions
- Cost per conversion
- Tests completed
- Optimisations made
- Priorities for the next period
Your agency should explain performance changes, not just display charts.
Reporting should also relate results back to the objectives agreed before launch. If lead quality falls or conversion costs rise, the agency should explain why and what it intends to test next.
You should also have reasonable visibility into the advertising account rather than relying entirely on screenshots.
10. How Will ChatGPT Ads Fit Into Your Wider Marketing Strategy?
ChatGPT Ads should usually be treated as another acquisition channel, not a replacement for everything else.
A customer might discover your business through ChatGPT, visit your website, search your brand later on Google and then submit an enquiry.
Your agency should understand how ChatGPT Ads fits alongside:
- SEO
- Google Ads
- Social media advertising
- Content marketing
- Business directories
- Email marketing
- Retargeting
- Conversion optimisation
Be cautious if an agency claims ChatGPT Ads will replace Google Ads or make SEO unnecessary.
A stronger strategy uses each channel where it performs best and recognises that customers may interact with several touchpoints before converting.
What Are the Biggest Red Flags When Choosing a ChatGPT Ads Agency?
Watch for:
- Guaranteed results: Fixed lead or sales guarantees are unrealistic.
- Guaranteed placement: OpenAI controls ad delivery.
- No tracking plan: Campaigns should connect activity with outcomes.
- No account access: Your business should retain appropriate access.
- Unclear fees: Management costs and media spend should be separate.
- No testing process: Optimisation requires experimentation.
- AI buzzwords without specifics: Ask what the agency will actually do.
- Replacing every channel: ChatGPT Ads should fit into your wider marketing mix.
OpenAI notes that its advertising system controls delivery decisions, including when campaigns are accessed through partners.
That makes promises of guaranteed positioning especially questionable.
Making Sure You Get the Right Agency
Choosing the right ChatGPT Ads agency comes down to asking the right questions before your budget starts moving.
Focus on platform experience, strategy, audience intent, measurement, tracking, account access, pricing, testing and business outcomes. ChatGPT Ads may be new, but the fundamentals of responsible performance marketing still apply.
Paid advertising also does not have to work alone. A trusted business listing in Malaysia, on platforms such as Listing.my, can support a broader digital visibility strategy alongside emerging channels such as ChatGPT Ads.
Frequently Asked Questions About Questions to Ask When Choosing a ChatGPT Ads Agency
What Is a ChatGPT Ads Agency?
A ChatGPT Ads agency helps businesses plan, manage, measure and optimise paid advertising campaigns that appear within ChatGPT.
How Do I Choose the Best ChatGPT Ads Agency?
Look for genuine platform knowledge, transparent pricing, conversion tracking, measurable objectives and a structured optimisation process. Your business should also retain appropriate account access.
Are ChatGPT Ads Available in Malaysia?
Yes. OpenAI announced the rollout of ChatGPT Ads in Malaysia on September 23, 2026. Malaysia is also currently listed as a market with self-service Ads Manager availability.
How Much Do ChatGPT Ads Cost?
There is no universal fixed price. OpenAI currently supports Views, Clicks and Conversions objectives. Views campaigns use CPM pricing, while Clicks campaigns use CPC pricing.
For Clicks campaigns using a manual CPC bid, OpenAI currently recommends starting with a maximum bid of around US3–US5 per click. This is a starting recommendation, not a guaranteed cost.
What Should a ChatGPT Ads Agency Report?
Reports should cover metrics such as spend, impressions, clicks, CTR, CPC, CPM and conversions, while also explaining what changed and what the agency plans to improve.
Should ChatGPT Ads Replace Google Ads?
Usually not. ChatGPT Ads is better treated as an additional acquisition channel alongside search, SEO, social media and other digital marketing activity.
