---
title: "ChatGPT Ads Generate Less Revenue Per Visit Than Google Search Ads"
url: https://adtech.lol/articles/2a9bb2d0-266d-47f0-827d-8894b8b1ba58
source_url: https://searchengineland.com/chatgpt-ads-generate-less-revenue-per-visit-than-google-search-study-500160/
source_site: searchengineland
author: "Danny Goodwin"
published: 2023-10-10T00:00:00+00:00
tags: ["ChatGPT", "Google Search", "Online advertising", "Advertising revenue"]
publisher: AdTech Radar
---

# ChatGPT Ads Generate Less Revenue Per Visit Than Google Search Ads

> ChatGPT ads generated 64% less revenue per visit than Google Search ads, according to a new study of nearly 1,900 websites. This raises concerns for advertisers regarding effectiveness and cost.

ChatGPT ads generated 64% less revenue per visit than Google Search ads, according to a new study of nearly 1,900 websites. The October working paper by researchers at WU Vienna and Frankfurt School of Finance & Management also examined how advertising affected unpaid ChatGPT referrals.

## Why we care
ChatGPT ads offer another way to reach potential customers, but early results suggest those clicks generate less revenue than Google Search ads. Advertisers need to compare revenue and conversions against the cost of each click.

## ChatGPT ads generated less revenue
In U.S. traffic, paid ChatGPT visits generated $0.89 per session, compared with $2.45 for Google Search ads.

- **Conversion rates:** ChatGPT ads converted at 0.37%, compared with 1.17% for Google Search ads.
- **Advertiser results:** Of 87 advertisers using both channels, 97% earned less revenue per ChatGPT visit.
- ChatGPT ads would need to cost about $0.26 per click to match Google Search’s return on ad spend, researchers estimated.
- One publicly disclosed ChatGPT advertiser reported paying $1.72 per click.

## Organic ChatGPT referrals may have declined
Unpaid ChatGPT referrals fell an estimated 5.9% in the first 13 weeks after ads launched, compared with markets without ads. However, the decline wasn’t statistically significant.

- Researchers then adjusted for assumed differences in regional ChatGPT growth. The estimated decline rose to 7.2% to 8.4%. Those results were statistically significant under the study’s assumptions.

## About the data
The study analyzed nearly 10 billion sessions across 1,898 websites from June 2025 through August 2026. Paid ad comparisons used a smaller sample. The study was observational and tracked revenue attributed to website visits, which may miss later purchases.

Source: [https://searchengineland.com/chatgpt-ads-generate-less-revenue-per-visit-than-google-search-study-500160/](https://searchengineland.com/chatgpt-ads-generate-less-revenue-per-visit-than-google-search-study-500160/)