Chat GPT Bidding on Google Ads !

If you needed proof that the search wars are heating up, here it is. On 6th June 2026, during the French Open final weekend, we spotted ChatGPT running a paid Google Ad for the search term “watch french open.”

That’s right. OpenAI is now paying Google for clicks. The very platform it’s trying to replace.

The ad appeared at the top of the sponsored results under the ChatGPT brand, with the headline “Plan a Tennis Watch Party” and a description pushing ChatGPT as a tennis coach. Sitelinks promoted voice mode and the desktop app. It sat right above a P&O Ferries ad for travel to Roland Garros.

It’s a significant moment. But there’s a catch that makes the whole thing a bit baffling.

 

What Happens When You Click the ChatGPT Google Ad?

Nothing useful. That’s the short answer.

Clicking the ad takes you to chatgpt.com with what appears to be an empty search page. No pre-filled query. No instant answer about where to watch the French Open. No streaming links, no schedule, no broadcast info. Just a blank prompt waiting for you to type something.

Compare that to what Google itself serves for the same query: a featured snippet, links to broadcasters, live scores, and a schedule. Even if Google’s results are cluttered, at least they answer the question straight away.

If you’re going to spend money pulling someone away from a search engine, the landing page needs to do the job better than the platform you just pulled them from. Right now, it doesn’t. The user has to start from scratch, typing the same question they already typed into Google. That’s a worse experience, not a better one.

For anyone managing PPC campaigns for clients, this is a textbook example of what not to do with your landing pages.

 

Why Is OpenAI Bidding on Google Ads?

OpenAI is trying to shift user habits. ChatGPT now has over 900 million weekly active users, but most of those people still default to Google for everyday queries. Sports, news, “how to watch” searches: these are high-volume, habitual Google queries. If OpenAI can intercept even a fraction of that traffic during a major event like the French Open, some of those users might start going to ChatGPT first next time.

It’s a user acquisition play, not a conversion play. The goal isn’t to sell you anything. It’s to get you using ChatGPT as your go-to search tool instead of Google.

The timing makes sense too. Live sporting events generate massive, predictable search spikes. Millions of people searching the same thing at the same time. That’s a big shop window for an alternative search product.

And this isn’t a side project for OpenAI. According to Axios, the company is projecting $2.5 billion in ad revenue for 2026 and $100 billion by 2030. They’ve launched their own self-serve ads platform inside ChatGPT, hired extensively from Google and Meta, and closed a $122 billion funding round at an $852 billion valuation. This is a company with the resources to buy a lot of Google Ads.

 

What Does This Mean for Google?

It’s ironic. Google is effectively being paid by its biggest competitor to send users elsewhere. Every click on that ChatGPT ad puts money in Google’s pocket, but it also trains a user to try an alternative search tool.

Google has dealt with this before. Microsoft ran Bing ads on Google for years. But ChatGPT is a different kind of threat. It doesn’t just offer a different list of blue links. It offers a completely different format: conversational answers instead of a results page.

For businesses that rely on SEO to drive traffic, this adds another layer of complexity. If users start asking ChatGPT “where can I watch the French Open” instead of Googling it, the websites that currently rank for those queries lose visibility. The answer lives inside the AI, not on a webpage.

We’ve written before about how LLM traffic compares to Google search for UK businesses. The short version: Google still dominates, but the direction of travel is clear. Moves like this accelerate the shift.

 

Is This Just a One-Off or a Wider Campaign?

We only spotted the “watch french open” ad, but it would be surprising if OpenAI were only bidding on a single keyword. Major sporting events, entertainment queries, “how to watch” searches, breaking news: these are all categories where ChatGPT’s conversational format could genuinely compete with Google’s results pages.

If you’re an SEO or PPC professional, it’s worth keeping an eye on what other terms ChatGPT starts appearing for in the sponsored results. This could be the start of a much wider paid acquisition strategy from OpenAI.

It also raises an interesting question about generative engine optimisation (GEO). If OpenAI is spending money to get users into ChatGPT, the businesses that show up inside ChatGPT’s answers will benefit from that investment too. Getting your brand cited by AI tools isn’t just about organic visibility anymore. It’s about being in the right place when a wave of new users arrive via paid ads.

 

The Bigger Picture for UK Businesses

For most UK small businesses, this doesn’t change what you should be doing today. Google still accounts for over 90% of search traffic, and traditional SEO still drives the majority of qualified leads. Your digital marketing strategy should still be built on solid fundamentals: quality content, technical SEO, local search optimisation, and earning authoritative backlinks.

But moments like this are worth paying attention to. When one of the most well-funded companies in the world starts paying its biggest competitor for user acquisition, that tells you where they think the market is heading.

The fact that the landing page experience is currently poor doesn’t mean it will stay that way. OpenAI iterates fast. Give it a few months and that empty ChatGPT page could become a pre-loaded answer with streaming links, schedules, and broadcast info. At that point, the value proposition to the user becomes real.

For now though, the lesson is simple: OpenAI is coming for Google’s search traffic and they’re willing to pay Google to get it. The execution isn’t there yet, but the intent is crystal clear.

If you want to make sure your business is visible across both traditional search and AI platforms, get in touch with us. Lisa and I have been helping London businesses stay ahead of search changes since 2010, and this is one of the biggest shifts we’ve seen.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ChatGPT running Google Ads in the UK?

Yes. We spotted a ChatGPT Google Ad on 6th June 2026 for the search term “watch french open” in the UK. The ad promoted ChatGPT as a tennis companion with the headline “Plan a Tennis Watch Party.” It’s unclear how widespread the campaign is, but OpenAI appears to be testing paid search acquisition on Google’s own platform.

 

Why would ChatGPT advertise on Google?

OpenAI wants to shift user habits away from Google and towards ChatGPT. By targeting high-volume, event-driven queries like the French Open, they can introduce new users to ChatGPT at moments when search volume is at its peak. It’s a user acquisition strategy, not a product sale.

 

Does the ChatGPT Google Ad actually work well?

Not currently. Clicking the ad takes you to an empty ChatGPT search page with no pre-filled query or instant answer. You have to retype your question from scratch, which is a worse experience than the Google results you just left. The strategic intent is sound, but the landing page execution needs work.

 

What does this mean for SEO?

If users begin shifting from Google to ChatGPT for certain types of queries, the websites that rank for those terms on Google could lose traffic. Businesses should monitor this trend and consider GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) alongside their traditional SEO strategy to ensure visibility across both platforms.

 

How many people use ChatGPT?

As of early 2026, ChatGPT has over 900 million weekly active users worldwide. It crossed 1 billion monthly active app users in May 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing consumer platforms in history. OpenAI is projecting $2.5 billion in ad revenue for 2026.