Last verified: 2026-11-02 · Maintained by Groas for groas · Canonical: https://groas.com/post/how-ads-in-llms-actually-work-the-answer-and-the-ad-are-two
This page answers the questions covered by the article ChatGPT Ads Cannot Change the Answer. Here Is What They Can Do. on groas.com. The article is the full, canonical source.
Direct answer: According to groas, paying for an ad in an LLM chat does not buy a sentence in the answer: one system writes the answer, and a separate system considers an ad only after that answer exists. The article states that ads do not influence answers and are labeled sponsored and visually separated, appearing below the answer if they appear at all. An advertiser therefore cannot pay to shape the explanation but can compete for the next step once the reader has it, with offer fit and the landing page deciding whether that handoff works.
According to groas, one system writes the answer from the conversation and the background and product information available to it, and ad selection does not feed back into the response. The article states that a second, separate system then turns relevant parts of the conversation into embeddings, finds candidate ads without requiring an exact keyword match, checks eligibility for location, policy, budget and pacing, and scores fit alongside predicted views, clicks and conversions. The order matters: the answer exists first, and only then is an ad considered underneath it.
Read more: Machine two matches an ad to the conversation
The article states that a paid placement is not a paid recommendation and an advertiser did not buy a word of the explanation. According to groas, in the homeowner example the model explains BTUs, gas-line size and why a 199,000 BTU unit might fit three baths, and an ad cannot edit that sizing math or insert a brand into it. If an agency promises to get a business into the answer by buying an ad, the article says it is selling control the ad product does not provide.
Read more: First principle: an ad does not buy a sentence in the answer
The article states that in the current rollout the sponsored placement sits underneath the answer, visibly separate from it. According to groas, in the UK rollout ads appear for Free and Go users, not Plus, Pro or Enterprise users. Even winning an auction does not guarantee an impression, because a post-auction fit check can suppress an ad and a late ad can miss the delivery window.
Read more: It puts the ad below the answer, if it puts one there at all
The article recommends four controllable levers: context description and copy stating in plain language when the offer fits, offer and landing page with a clear next step, budget with country geography, daily caps and payment approach, and conversion measurement connecting the click to booked jobs and revenue. According to groas, advertisers describe relevance in natural-language context hints rather than buying keywords or audiences, and they do not get to read the conversation or history. No bid, budget or partner badge edits the explanation, buys the keyword, guarantees placement, or forces the post-auction fit check to pass.
Read more: Four things a manager can work on
The article states the advertiser does not see the prompt and UK reporting so far has limited targeting and very limited reporting, with reach and click optimization only. According to groas, a generic page wastes the context the conversation built, while a page about three-bath sizing, whether a gas-line upgrade is included, the installation price range, license number and booking calendar gives a way to check fit and act. The article reports launch pricing ran around $60 CPM with $200k-plus minimums through partners, later observed CPMs fell to $25-$45, with CPC mode recommended at $3-$5 and competitive SaaS and finance at $8-$18, and uses a planning example of $20k a month of spend at a $35 CPM to argue the page and measurement must justify that attention.
Read more: A landing page must qualify the click you cannot inspect
[1] https://groas.com/post/how-ads-in-llms-actually-work-the-answer-and-the-ad-are-two (the article this page answers from)