Sponsored ads appeared in 47% of the ChatGPT conversations concerning video games and consoles that Comscore tracked in U.S. PC action in June, up from 3% in March.
The fig is from Comscore’s Q2 2026 AI Intelligence Report, released on Sept. 22. During this period, ad existence risen from 5% to 24% in toys and hobbies discussions, and from 9% to 22% in books, music, and video.
Gaming Conversations Climbed Fastest
Ad existence in ChatGPT gaming conversations stayed between 3% and 4% through April, afterward risen to 18% in May and reached 47% in June.
Toys and hobbies grew all month, from 5% in March to 12% in April, 14% in May, and 24% in June. Books, music, and video fluctuated more: from 9% in March to 12% in April, a dip to 8% in May, and a increase to 22% in June.
What Comscore Counted
Comscore’s retailing diagram focuses on conversations fairly than tracking idiosyncratic users or ad impressions. It shows the portion of ChatGPT conversations, which Comscore classifies by retailing category, that contain a sponsored ad. The source note in the glide mentions that the data reflects U.S. PC action lone and is according to an opt-in panel.
However, the study doesn’t define the figure of conversations rearward all monthly fig or item how conversations are categorized. It additionally isn’t apparent whether fair one sponsored ad in any part of a conversation is adequate for it to be counted.
It’s additionally unclear whether Comscore’s basis includes conversations from ad-free plans. OpenAI’s help center says ads may appear for Free and Go users and in logged-out use, during Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu accounts are ad-free. If conversations from ad-free plans are in the denominator, the diagram doesn’t disclose the ad charge among conversations eligible to display ads.
Where The Series Falls In OpenAI’s Ad Rollout
OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT on Feb. 9 for logged-in adults in the U.S. on the Free and Go tiers. Comscore’s retailing sequence starts in March, a few weeks into that test.
On May 5, OpenAI began rolling out a beta self-serve Ads Manager and added cost-per-click bidding next to the CPM purchasing it offered in the pilot’s archetypal phase. June, the highest duration in all three categories, was the archetypal complete duration following OpenAI began rolling out the beta self-serve Ads Manager. Comscore doesn’t nexus the two, and the diagram can’t display whether new advertisers, additional inventory, or item alternatively drove the jump.
How This Compares With Earlier Data
Comscore’s September 3 report revealed that sponsored ads appeared in 6% of hotel-related ChatGPT prompts alongside origin links in March. This figure grew to 14% in April and 24% in May. Since this sequence lone counts prompts alongside origin links, it doesn’t immediately equivalent retailing percentages.
In August, SEJ highlighted SE Ranking’s ChatGPT ads report, which examined 50,006 business prompts collected on July 23 and established that 25.94% of them included ads.
Why This Matters
SE Ranking’s report analyzed how frequently ChatGPT displayed ads in reply to prompts written by a vendor on a sole day. Meanwhile, Comscore’s diagram shows the frequence of user-initiated conversations that included an ad complete time, throughout three retailing categories in U.S. PC activity.
In the categories of games, toys, and media, sponsored placements appeared in 22% to 47% of June conversations tracked, depending on the category. Until Comscore releases detailed conversation counts, the June addition have to be considered a preliminary observation.
Looking Ahead
On September 16, OpenAI introduced a new ChatGPT Ads app specifically for U.S. Shopify merchants, alongside plans to develop to another ChatGPT Ads markets starting September 23. They emphasize that products are already unified through the Shopify Catalog, so merchants can commencement operating ads immediately.
Additionally, OpenAI is experimenting alongside Sponsored Agents, in a evaluation phase alongside a constricted collection of U.S. advertisers. When users click on an ad, they can commencement a new conversation alongside a business-sponsored agent, distinct from their first conversation thread. Comscore’s published methodology does not define how these distinct sponsored chats volition be handled in forthcoming reports.
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