Ask a Malaysian marketer whether they can pay to be recommended by ChatGPT and plenty will assume yes. The honest answer is no. OpenAI states that ads do not influence ChatGPT's answers, so the sponsored card and a mention inside the answer are two different things, bought in two different ways.
Our take is that they're two halves of one job. ChatGPT Ads buy the card, and GEO (generative engine optimisation) earns the mention. If you haven't read our explainer on how ChatGPT Ads work in Malaysia, start there. Here's how we'd split the work.
Can You Pay to Appear in ChatGPT's Answers
No. The OpenAI Help Center says ads run on separate systems from the chat model, and advertisers can't rank or alter a response. The card sits below the answer, labelled as sponsored.
- ChatGPT Ads pay for the card under the answer.
- GEO works to get your brand named or cited inside the answer.
If a vendor promises to put you in ChatGPT's answers with ad spend, walk away. The claim contradicts OpenAI's own documentation.
Who Decides Where Your Brand Shows Up
Ads go through an auction. You write context hints, which are plain descriptions of the conversations you want to appear in, and OpenAI picks among eligible ads with a relevance-weighted, second-price auction. In GEO, the model decides which sources to draw on, and no bid changes that. Our piece on how AI tools choose which sources to cite covers the mechanics.
Audience is the bigger gap. Ads reach only Free and Go users, and Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts see none. The answer reaches every plan.
Our view is that an answer mention is the only way to reach someone on a paying plan. It's why we wouldn't call a ChatGPT Ads budget a complete ChatGPT strategy.
What You Pay For and How You Measure It
OpenAI suggests starting CPC bids of USD3 to USD5. Treat that as general guidance, since we haven't seen a Malaysian benchmark yet.
GEO is paid for as effort, usually on a retainer, with no media cost per appearance. Our judgement is that ads stop the day spend stops, while answer presence can outlast the work. AI answers shift as sources shift, though, so GEO needs upkeep.
Ads Manager gives you click-level numbers within days. GEO is read differently: AI share of voice tracks how often your brand appears across a fixed set of category prompts, and it moves slowly. If your finance team wants a return figure next quarter, ads produce it first. GEO is the half you still own when you pause spend.
What Carries Over from Google Ads
Most of the habits do. CPC bidding, conversion tagging and a sharp landing page all apply, and a team running Google Ads management in Malaysia will feel at home in the auction.
Keyword lists carry over less well. Placement runs on context hints, so use your best-converting keywords as raw material for writing them.
We expect most advertisers to fund a ChatGPT Ads test from the paid-media line. Decide that on purpose, so GEO isn't the line that gets cut.
Why Run ChatGPT Ads and GEO Together
Both spots sit on one screen. A brand named in the answer with a card beneath it gives the reader two signals at once. It's our reasoning, not a proven effect. The ads data also has a second use: the context hints that earn clicks are a fair guide to which prompts are worth chasing through GEO.
Regulated sectors have less choice. OpenAI's Ad Policies, updated 10 September 2026, say ads for financial services and health services outside the US are generally prohibited, and legal services ads outside the US are currently prohibited. If you run a Malaysian bank, insurer or clinic, GEO is the main route into ChatGPT for now. If you run a law firm, it's the only one.
| ChatGPT Ads | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you appear | Sponsored card below the answer | Inside the answer |
| Who decides | Auction, guided by your context hints | The model, from the sources it trusts |
| What you pay for | Views, clicks or conversions, depending on the buying option | Content, technical and PR work |
| Who sees it | Free and Go users | All plans |
| How you measure it | Impressions, clicks, conversions | AI share of voice |
We often see paid media and GEO planned separately in Malaysia, sometimes by different agencies. Plan them together, because the ads data should feed the GEO priorities.
Cleverus is a Malaysian SEO and GEO agency that runs GEO and Google Ads, as a Google Premier Partner, for Malaysian brands. Ask us how ChatGPT Ads fits beside your GEO work, or see our GEO service for AI search.
References
OpenAI Help Center. (2026). Ads in ChatGPT. Available at: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001047-ads-in-chatgpt.
OpenAI Help Center. (2026). Ads in ChatGPT: The Basics. Available at: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001207-ads-in-chatgpt-the-basics.
OpenAI. (2026). Ad Policies (updated 10 September 2026). Available at: https://openai.com/policies/ad-policies/.
