What's the Minimum Ad Budget to Run ChatGPT Ads in 2026?

Criteo, OpenAI's ad-tech partner for ChatGPT advertising, cut its ChatGPT campaign minimum spend to $10,000 in June 2026, down from a $50,000 minimum set in April — which itself was a steep drop from the $200,000-$250,000 entry commitment OpenAI required when the ads pilot launched in February 2026. StackAdapt, a second ad network running ChatGPT ad pilots, dropped its own $50,000 minimum entirely in May 2026 after opening its self-serve model more broadly.

The Minimum-Spend Timeline

• February 2026 — OpenAI launches its ChatGPT ads pilot with Criteo as first ad-tech partner, requiring a $200,000-$250,000 upfront commitment.
• April 2026 — Criteo lowers its minimum to $50,000; StackAdapt enters with its own $50,000 minimum spend commitment.
• May 2026 — StackAdapt drops its minimum spend requirement entirely as it opens access to a broader set of self-serve advertisers.
• June 2026 — Criteo cuts its minimum again, to $10,000, alongside simplified product-feed integrations and added incentives aimed at retail brands.

Why Minimums Fell So Fast

The roughly 96% drop from OpenAI's original $200,000-$250,000 pilot commitment to Criteo's current $10,000 minimum, in under four months, reflects intense early competition between ad networks to land advertisers on a new, high-visibility inventory source. Criteo had reported over 1,000 live brands on ChatGPT ads as adoption accelerated, and lowering the entry bar further opens the channel to mid-market and smaller advertisers who couldn't justify a six-figure test budget.

What This Means If You're Considering ChatGPT Ads

A $10,000 minimum through Criteo is still a meaningfully larger commitment than testing a new channel on Google or Meta, where campaigns can start at a few dollars a day. Businesses without that budget available for a single-channel test aren't entirely locked out, though — StackAdapt's self-serve access, which no longer carries its own stated minimum, is currently the lower-barrier path into the same ad inventory.

Why the Minimums Exist at All

Unlike Google Ads or Meta, which run fully self-serve auctions open to any advertiser at any budget, ChatGPT ads launched as a managed pilot through a small number of ad-tech partners, with OpenAI and those partners controlling early access while the ad product, measurement, and brand-safety tooling were still being built out. Minimum spend commitments in that early phase function less like a price floor and more like a qualification filter — a way to prioritize onboarding support and account management toward advertisers serious enough to commit meaningful budget, while the self-serve tooling that would support smaller advertisers directly was still in development.

What's Reportedly Driving Continued Advertiser Interest

Criteo has reported strong early performance signals alongside the falling minimums — the company cited AI-driven conversions nearing double prior levels and over 1,000 brands live on the channel as of mid-2026, which is part of why ad networks are racing to lower the barrier to entry rather than holding firm on pricing while the channel is still establishing its reputation with advertisers.

Bottom Line

Expect a $10,000 floor to test ChatGPT ads through Criteo as of June 2026, with StackAdapt offering a lower-barrier self-serve alternative with no published minimum — and expect these numbers to keep moving as more ad networks compete for ChatGPT ad inventory, so confirm current minimums directly with each network before committing budget.

Sources: eMarketer, "Criteo lowers ChatGPT spending minimums to $10,000, opening the door for smaller brands" (emarketer.com/content/criteo-lowers-chatgpt-spending-minimums--10-000--opening-door-smaller-brands); Adweek, "StackAdapt Drops Minimum Spend Commitment for ChatGPT Ads" (adweek.com/media/stackadapt-drops-minimum-spend-commitment-for-chatgpt-ads/).