DocumentationGenStudioUser Guide

Create a ChatGPT ad experience

Last update: May 8, 2026

CREATED FOR:

  • Beginner
  • User

Use Create in GenStudio for Performance Marketing to build ChatGPT ads as paid media experiences—from guidelines and assets through generation, brand and channel checks, approval, publishing to Content, and activation in the same Activate flow used for channels such as Meta and Google Campaign Manager 360.

Before you begin, add guidelines where needed and review effective prompts so your headline prompts produce strong variants.

Prerequisites

You’ll need to be set up according to these prerequisites before you create or activate ChatGPT ads in GenStudio for Performance Marketing.

Access and roles

  • You have an Editor role or higher in GenStudio for Performance Marketing. See User roles and permissions.
  • You have an OpenAI Ad Account and an API key from that account.
  • A ChatGPT Ads account is connected to GenStudio for Performance Marketing.

To create an API key in OpenAI Ads Manager:

  1. In OpenAI Ads Manager, go to Settings > API Keys > Create New Key.

To connect your ChatGPT Ads account in GenStudio for Performance Marketing:

  1. In the lower-left area, click More > Settings > ChatGPT > Connect > Add Account.
  2. Enter the name of your OpenAI Ad Account, paste your API key, and click Add Account.

Your ad account is connected when the flow completes successfully.

Create configuration

  • Brands, Products, and Personas are configured so the app can generate on-brand copy. See Guidelines overview.
  • Images you want to use are available in Content.

Generate a ChatGPT ad

You create ChatGPT ads as paid media experiences in the Create workspace.

Start a ChatGPT experience

To open ChatGPT creation:

  1. Go to Create > ChatGPT. You do not select templates for ChatGPT; a single ad layout is used.
    ChatGPT tile in the Create workflow {width="60%"}
  2. In the Canvas, make selections for Brand, Product, Persona, and Language.
  3. Select an image from Content.
  4. Enter a prompt for your ChatGPT headline copy.
  5. Click Generate.

GenStudio for Performance Marketing generates four creative variants.

You can:

  • Use Regenerate or Refine to adjust tone, length, or emphasis.
  • Edit text directly in the Canvas.
  • Use Swap to choose an alternative image from Content.

See Manage variants for more ways to edit generated experiences.

Run brand and channel checks

Before you save or send the experience for review, validate copy and layout against brand and channel rules.

To run content checks:

  1. Click Content check (brand and channel checks).
  2. Review validation results in the Content check panel.
  3. Resolve any flagged issues—for example copy length or dense on-screen text—by editing variants or regenerating as needed.

See Brand validation.

Save a ChatGPT ad in GenStudio for Performance Marketing

Saving moves your ChatGPT ad experience into Content so it can be reviewed, reused, and activated.

There are two states:

  • Draft experience — Work in progress and not approved.
  • Published experience — Approved and available in Content for activation.

Send for review

  1. From the experience header, click Request review.
  2. Select approvers (for example brand, legal, or performance stakeholders).
  3. Optional: Add a note in Settings.
  4. Click Send for review.

Approvers can view the ChatGPT experience, brand and channel check results, and Approve or request changes.

See Request review and approval and Reviews and approvals.

Publish to Content

After all required approvals, publish to Content:

  1. Click Publish to Content.
  2. Confirm metadata—for example campaign or activation name, region, language, persona, funnel stage, and Channel: ChatGPT.
  3. Click Publish.

The ChatGPT ad appears in Content—discoverable with filters such as channel or campaign—and is ready for selection in Activate.

See Publish approved content and Content overview.

Activate a ChatGPT ad

ChatGPT activation uses the same Activate module as Meta and Google Campaign Manager 360. See Create an activation for the shared activation workflow.

Start a ChatGPT activation

You can start from Content or from Activate.

From Content

  • Select one or more published ChatGPT experiences.

From Activate

  • Open the ChatGPT card and click + New.

Each experience maps to one ChatGPT ad.

Configure experience setup

For each selected experience, confirm:

  • Title
  • Body
  • Target URL — Must use valid https:// format (for example https://www.example.com).

Configure platform setup

Select ChatGPT Ads Manager details:

  • OpenAI Ads account
  • ChatGPT Campaign — Must already exist in OpenAI Ads Manager.
  • ChatGPT Ad group — Must already exist in OpenAI Ads Manager.
  • ChatGPT Ad name — One distinct name per ChatGPT ad.

Review and publish

  1. Review all creative and platform details.
  2. Click Publish.

GenStudio for Performance Marketing pushes ads to ChatGPT Ads Manager in an inactive state so your media team controls final launch timing and budget—consistent with other paid channels. See Activate overview.

What happens after you publish

  • A publishing in progress modal appears and closes automatically.
  • You are redirected to the ChatGPT Activation table, which lists the latest activations. Status shows Pending while processing completes.
  • You can navigate away while publishing finishes.

When processing completes:

  • A confirmation pop-up shows success or failure.
  • If you click the pop-up—or open the ChatGPT activation in the activation table—you see the Details page.
  • If activation Failed, the table shows that status plus an error message from ChatGPT.

In OpenAI Ads Manager, media teams can run final checks and turn ads or ad groups live when ready.

recommendation-more-help
genstudio-for-performance-marketing-help-user-guide