Last verified: September 30, 2026
ChatGPT Ads benchmarks by industry, from WKND’s 12 modeled campaign scenarios: CPC runs from $2.10 (food and beverage) to $9.00 (personal injury), cost per lead from $55.56 (local services) to $250.00 (personal injury), and refund-adjusted ROAS from 2.01x (footwear) to 3.06x (ecommerce bundles). Each figure links to its full case study, with the funnel and the unit economics behind it.
ChatGPT Ads benchmarks by industry
Modeled results. Each row is a separate 90-day scenario with its own budget, CPC and funnel. The columns come from the case studies; the last column applies to retail scenarios only.
| Industry | CPC | Cost per lead / per order | Media CAC | Program CAC | Net ROAS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Law firms | $6.25 | $126.32 | $1,153.85 | $1,707.69 | — |
| Personal injury attorneys | $9.00 | $250.00 | $2,903.23 | $4,412.90 | — |
| Workers compensation attorneys | $6.50 | $120.32 | $737.70 | $1,204.92 | — |
| Divorce and family law attorneys | $6.00 | $133.33 | $1,111.11 | $1,933.33 | — |
| Ecommerce brands | $3.50 | $73.71 | $81.91 | $109.22 | 3.06x |
| Footwear brands | $2.80 | $63.56 | $70.59 | $100.59 | 2.01x |
| Jewelry brands | $3.50 | $117.19 | $130.06 | $201.16 | 2.61x |
| Food and beverage brands | $2.10 | $33.33 | $37.04 | $58.52 | 2.88x |
| Lead generation and B2B SaaS | $8.00 | $197.63 | $6,521.74 | $9,913.04 | — |
| Local businesses | $4.00 | $55.56 | $129.73 | $215.68 | — |
| HVAC plumbing and roofing contractors | $6.25 | $115.74 | $688.07 | $1,067.89 | — |
| Healthcare providers | $6.00 | $111.11 | $229.59 | $331.63 | — |
Higher spend does not guarantee matching delivery or constant CAC. The larger programs use updated CPCs and funded operating support. Confirm approved inventory, location and product coverage, intake or fulfillment capacity, and the working capital needed until collections. Increase budgets only when marginal customer quality and contribution remain acceptable.
ChatGPT Ads results from WKND clients
Client names stay private. The results below are cleared for publication. See the ChatGPT Ads Case Studies for the full cards.
| Account | Result | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco law firm | $105.11 cost per lead, 58% below Google Search | 114 leads from $11,982 in spend, June 15 to July 31, 2026; clicks about $2.62 against an implied $43 on Google |
| Three B2B SaaS companies | 110+ qualified leads at 60% less per lead than Google | 2.5x the leads per dollar, average CPC about $7 |
| Developer-tools company | About 1.8x ROAS | About $27,000 returned per ~$15,000 test group, June 12–August 12, 2026 |
ChatGPT Ads benchmarks published by OpenAI
| Advertiser | Published result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Newegg | 3x ROAS over 28 days; 7x during the Fantastech Sale | Industry example: Newegg results published by OpenAI on August 17, 2026. The 7x figure applies to the sale campaign. |
| Angi | 34% lower cost per lead; about 52% more leads per dollar; ROAS up more than 38% from Q2 to Q3 | Industry example: Angi marketplace results published by OpenAI on September 22, 2026. These are marketplace-level results. |
| Jotform | More than 10% of ad clicks became signups; cost per signup about 30% below paid search and 60% below paid social | Industry example: Jotform results published by OpenAI on September 3, 2026. Cost comparisons use Jotform’s July 1–31, 2026 internal campaign data; signups are not paid customers. |
Benchmarks by industry group
Law firms
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Law Firm: 52 retained matters at $1,153.85 media acquisition cost.
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Personal Injury Law Firm: 31 signed cases at $2,903.23 media acquisition cost.
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Workers Compensation Law Firm: 61 signed cases at $737.70 media acquisition cost.
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Family Law Firm: 27 retained matters at $1,111.11 media acquisition cost.
See ChatGPT Ads for Law Firms, and compare search costs in Google Ads for Law Firms.
Ecommerce and retail brands
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Ecommerce Brand: 1,628 initial orders at $73.71 media cost per order with $120,000 in ad spend.
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Footwear Brand: 944 initial orders at $63.56 media cost per order with $60,000 in ad spend.
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Jewelry Brand: 384 initial orders at $117.19 media cost per order with $45,000 in ad spend.
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Food and Beverage Brand: 900 initial orders at $33.33 media cost per order with $30,000 in ad spend.
See ChatGPT Ads for Ecommerce.
B2B SaaS
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: B2B SaaS: 23 closed-won customers at $6,521.74 media acquisition cost.
See ChatGPT Ads for SaaS.
Local services, contractors and healthcare
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Local Business: 185 new paying customers at $129.73 media acquisition cost.
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: HVAC, Plumbing and Roofing: 109 won jobs at $688.07 media acquisition cost.
- ChatGPT Ads Case Study: Dental Group: 392 new patients at $229.59 media acquisition cost.
See ChatGPT Ads for Local Businesses.
How to calculate ChatGPT Ads benchmarks
| Metric | Formula |
|---|---|
| CPC | Media spend / ad clicks |
| Session rate | Tracked landing sessions / ad clicks |
| Lead conversion | Valid unique inquiries / tracked sessions |
| Qualified CPL | Media spend / qualified inquiries |
| Media CAC | Media spend / new customers or signed clients |
| Program CAC | All defined program costs / new customers or signed clients |
| Purchase CPA | Media spend / all attributed orders |
| Gross ROAS | Gross attributed order revenue / media spend |
| Net ROAS | Attributed revenue after discounts and refunds / media spend |
| Initial contribution surplus | Net initial revenue × contribution margin − program cost |
| Repeat contribution | Net repeat revenue × repeat contribution margin |
| Expected legal fees | Signed cases × fee per paying case × realization probability |
| SaaS payback from activation | Program CAC / monthly recurring revenue per customer / gross contribution margin |
| Checkout abandonment | 1 − paid orders / checkout starts |
| Lead-to-client conversion | Retained clients / valid unique inquiries |
Store money before tax where appropriate and state the choice. Discounts are already reflected in modeled AOV. Refunds reduce revenue separately. Margin assumptions must include the associated variable costs so the same expense is not deducted twice. No single blended MER or average CAC is calculated across these twelve unrelated businesses.
Common questions
How much do ChatGPT Ads cost?
Self-serve campaigns start at a $25/day minimum budget. You choose CPM, CPC or outcome-optimized (oCPC) objectives, set maximum bids at the ad-group level (OpenAI recommends starting CPC bids of $3–5) and pay through a relevance-weighted, second-price auction.
How are results measured?
Through the OpenAI Pixel and Conversions API: conversion events matched to your campaigns, deduplicated with shared event IDs, with click references connecting conversions back to the ad. Reporting covers impressions, clicks, spend, CTR, average CPC and CPM, and conversions, and UTM parameters persist into your own analytics.
How much does a ChatGPT Ads agency cost?
WKND’s ChatGPT Ads Management Program is $7,800 per month with a 90-day initial commitment. It covers account build, campaign management, creative direction, measurement and reporting, with WKND’s supporting SEO services included. Ad spend is separate, and self-serve campaigns start at a $25/day minimum budget.
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