ChatGPT is starting to offer advertising, and while the move itself isn’t surprising, the early details matter, especially for anyone used to the quantity of metrics available on platforms like Google and Meta Ads.
Based on what’s been shared so far, pricing appears to be around $60 per 1,000 impressions (CPM). That immediately puts it on the higher end of most digital ad platforms. For context, that’s well above what many apartment advertisers pay on Google, Meta, or other established networks.
What Metrics Will Advertisers Get from ChatGPT Ads?
Early indications are that available reporting will be very minimal. Advertisers should expect access to only high-level metrics, including:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Possibly basic engagement signals (whether an ad was viewed or interacted with in a simple way)
What’s notably missing to start:
- No clear attribution to conversions, like apartment contact form submissions or leasing office calls
- No granular targeting or optimization feedback
In other words, you can pay to be seen, but you won’t really know what that visibility turns into other than what you can track in Google Analytics yourself.
Since OpenAI says they don’t intend to share user data, I’m not sure how it’s going to get better from here.
That doesn’t make it useless, but it does make it very different from the apartment advertising most multifamily marketers are using today.
How ChatGPT Ads Compare to Google Ads for Apartment Communities
When we manage Google Ads for apartment communities, we’re not optimizing for impressions alone. We optimize for outcomes that actually matter to our multifamily clients:
- Phone calls
- Contact form submissions
- Scheduled tours
- Completed rental applications (where possible)
Because we track those actions, we can optimize campaigns based on real apartment leasing performance data.
Even with that stricter, results-focused approach to optimize for actual apartment leads and scheduled tours, our average CPM over the past 7 days, which wasn’t during the height of the leasing season, was $24.63. That’s less than half the estimated cost of ChatGPT advertising, and it’s on a platform where attribution and optimization tools are mature and transparent. And it’s worth repeating: we aren’t even trying to optimize for impressions!
The Bottom Line for Multifamily Advertisers
It’s genuinely exciting to see ChatGPT offer advertising. New platforms often create new opportunities, and being early can matter.
That said, at $60 CPM with very limited reporting, this looks like a channel best suited right now for true trailblazers, property management companies willing to experiment without clear performance feedback and absorb higher costs in exchange for being a first mover. It also might be worth trying for apartment lease-ups with big marketing budgets.
For most apartment advertisers, especially those who care about measurable leasing results, established platforms like Google still offer better economics, better data, and far more control, at least for now.
ChatGPT advertising is worth watching closely. It just isn’t a practical replacement for Google Ads for apartments yet.
From the desk of Ellen Thompson, Co-founder and CEO of Respage >> Since its founding, Respage has helped over 10,000 communities attract, engage, and retain residents. Its platform assists properties in generating leads, automating leasing, and managing reputation and social media. Thompson is also the Founder of Results Repeat, a digital marketing agency that has helped hundreds of companies create a digital presence and use SEO and paid marketing to generate more business online.
