ChatGPT Ads Reached 47% of Video Gaming Conversations in June, Comscore Data Shows

Sponsored advertisements appeared in 47% of ChatGPT conversations about video games and consoles tracked by Comscore in June 2026, rising from just 3% in March, according to Comscore's Q2 2026 AI Intelligence Report released on September 22. The data covers U.S. PC activity only and is based on an opt-in panel.

Ad presence in gaming conversations remained low through the first two months of the tracked period — staying between 3% and 4% through April — before climbing to 18% in May and reaching 47% in June. Two other retail categories also recorded increases. Toys and hobbies grew each month, from 5% in March to 24% in June. Books, music, and video moved from 9% in March to 22% in June, though with more month-to-month fluctuation, including a dip to 8% in May before recovering.

What Comscore Measured

Comscore's methodology tracks the share of ChatGPT conversations — classified by retail category — that include at least one sponsored ad, rather than counting individual users or ad impressions. However, the report does not specify the number of conversations behind each monthly figure, nor does it detail how conversations are categorized into retail topics. It is also unclear whether a single sponsored ad anywhere in a conversation is sufficient for that conversation to be counted.

A further limitation relates to plan eligibility. OpenAI's help center states that ads may appear for Free and Go users and in logged-out use, while Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu accounts are ad-free. If conversations from ad-free plans are included in Comscore's denominator, the figures would understate the ad rate among conversations actually eligible to display ads. Comscore's published methodology does not address this point.

Context Within OpenAI's Ad Rollout

OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT on February 9 for logged-in adults in the U.S. on the Free and Go tiers. Comscore's retail series starts in March, a few weeks into that test. On May 5, OpenAI began rolling out a beta self-serve Ads Manager and added cost-per-click bidding alongside the CPM buying available during the pilot's first phase. June — the highest-performing month across all three categories in Comscore's data — was the first full month after the beta Ads Manager rollout. Comscore does not link the two events, and the chart cannot show whether new advertisers, more inventory, or other factors drove the increase.

Comparison With Earlier Studies

A Comscore report published on September 3 found that sponsored ads appeared in 6% of hotel-related ChatGPT prompts containing source links in March, growing to 14% in April and 24% in May. That series counts only prompts with source links and is not directly comparable to the retail percentages.

A separate study by SE Ranking, highlighted by Search Engine Journal in August, examined 50,006 commercial prompts collected on July 23 and found that 25.94% of them included ads. That study analyzed how frequently ChatGPT displayed ads in response to prompts written by a vendor on a single day, while Comscore's chart tracks user-initiated conversations over time across retail categories.

Recent Developments in ChatGPT Advertising

On September 16, OpenAI introduced a new ChatGPT Ads app specifically for U.S. Shopify merchants, with plans to expand to other ChatGPT Ads markets starting September 23. OpenAI is also experimenting with Sponsored Agents — currently in a testing phase with a limited group of U.S. advertisers — whereby users who click on an ad can start a new conversation with a business-sponsored agent, separate from their original chat thread. Comscore's published methodology does not specify how these separate sponsored chats will be handled in future reports.

Search Engine Journal noted that, until Comscore releases detailed conversation counts, the June increase should be treated as a preliminary observation.