Paid advertisements on Google Search generated significantly more revenue per visit and higher conversion rates in the United States compared to ads displayed on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to a new academic study.
The research indicated that a visit originating from a paid Google Search advertisement yielded an average of $2.45 in revenue, substantially outperforming the $0.89 generated by a visit from a ChatGPT ad in the U.S. market.
Conversion rates also showed a notable disparity, with paid Google Search ads converting at 1.17 percent, while ChatGPT ad visits converted at 0.37 percent, researchers reported.
The study, conducted by academics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, estimated that a ChatGPT ad click would need to be priced at approximately $0.26 to achieve parity with Google Search in terms of revenue per dollar spent.
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, began rolling out advertisements in the United States on Feb. 9, 2026.
The findings, which analyzed data from 102 websites, also highlighted a high concentration of revenue from ChatGPT ads, with a single advertiser accounting for 66 percent of all purchases made via paid ChatGPT and 76 percent of all U.S. paid ChatGPT revenue.
Maximilian Kaiser and Christian Schulze, researchers involved in the study, collaborated with data intelligence firms Grips Intelligence and Opascope for their analysis.
The introduction of advertisements on ChatGPT also appeared to affect organic referrals. The study estimated a 6 percent to 8 percent decrease in organic ChatGPT referrals in countries where ads were running, compared to the European Union where advertisements had not yet been deployed.
The research suggests that advertisers may need to re-evaluate the value proposition of ChatGPT ads given their current performance metrics relative to established platforms like Google Search.
Source: Search Engine Journal
