Online Optimisers / Internal / OpenAI Ads Findings
Date: 30 April 2026
ChatGPT Ads: What We Found After Auditing All 10 Clients + Our Own 3 Properties
A new paid channel just opened up. We're early. Here's what to sell, where to start, and the numbers behind it.
The opportunity in one paragraph
OpenAI launched paid ads inside ChatGPT in February. Self-serve advertiser access opened in April. The minimum spend dropped from $250k to $50k commit, with $5k/month per campaign. Free + Go users see ads at the bottom of relevant answers (Plus/Pro do not). Most local businesses don't even know this exists yet. This is the first-mover window. We're moving on it now.
1What we did
We built the full ChatGPT-ads delivery stack (8 skills, 3 prompt libraries, sales playbook, kill-switch SOP), then ran a readiness audit on every one of our 10 paying clients PLUS our own 3 properties (onlineoptimisers.net, one.ie, agent-launch.ai). The audit checks: vertical eligibility, ICP fit, landing page tracking, and the budget/CPL math. Output is a recommendation: GO, GO with conditions, WAIT, or BLOCKED.
2Client portfolio findings
| Client | Niche | Verdict | Worst-case ROI | Audit |
|---|
| Howard Roofing | Roofing | GO | 16.3x | view |
| Lankford Roofing | Roofing | GO | 13.4x | view |
| Bobcat Movers | Movers | GO | 2.50x | view |
| Soft Touch Moving | Movers | GO | 2.50x | view |
| ANC Movers | Movers | GO | 1.80x | view |
| Metal Warehouse | Industrial | GO | 1.50x | view |
| Elite Movers | Movers | GO with conditions | 3.20x | view |
| Moving Pro | Movers | GO with conditions | 2.15x | view |
| Maestro Movers | Movers | GO with conditions | 0.58x | view |
| Advanced Center Cosmetic Dentistry | Dental | BLOCKED | n/a | view |
The wedge: all 10 clients had ZERO ChatGPT-ad tracking installed (no OAIQ SDK). Their competitors don't have it either. The first agency (us) to install for our clients gets a 30-day attribution head start.
3Our own properties (Donal + Tony)
| Property | Owner | Niche | Verdict | Audit |
|---|
| onlineoptimisers.net | OO | Marketing agency | GO (eat-own-dogfood) | view |
| one.ie | Donal | AI agent / audience platform | GO with conditions | view |
| agent-launch.ai | Tony | Crypto-blockchain dev tool | WAIT | view |
onlineoptimisers.net is the strongest GO in the entire portfolio. Agency LTV is 5-10x mover/roofer LTV. Free-audit offer pre-qualifies. ChatGPT-research-stage buyers asking "how to rank in chatgpt" are literally OO's stated ICP. Worst-case projection: 5 customers in Month 1 = +$7,500 MRR for $5,000 spend = same-month positive cashflow + a validated case study before any client takes the risk.
4Where we start: Howard Roofing
Howard is the standout client test pick. The math is dramatic compared to movers because roofing tickets are 4-6x larger.
| Scenario | Spend | Clicks | Leads | CPL | Customers | Gross profit | Net ROI |
|---|
| Best case | $5,000 | 1,667 | 133 | $37.50 | 40 | $144,000 | 27.8x |
| Mid case | $5,000 | 1,250 | 100 | $50.00 | 30 | $108,000 | 20.6x |
| Worst case | $5,000 | 1,000 | 80 | $62.50 | 24 | $86,400 | 16.3x |
Translation for the sales conversation: Chris's stated goal is 8 roofs/month minimum, 16 ideal. The mid-case projection from $5k/mo of ChatGPT ads alone produces 30 customers/month. Even if real-world close rate is half what we've projected (15% instead of 30%), it still produces 15 customers/month - effectively solving Chris's lead volume problem inside one channel. ChatGPT is already referring jobs to Howard organically (per his onboarding call), so layering paid on top of organic is the highest-leverage scenario.
5Why these three first (Howard / Soft Touch / Bobcat)
- Howard: highest worst-case ROI in the portfolio (16.3x). Free pilot Month 1 means low downside. Astro site rebuild is in flight, we install OAIQ tracking as part of the rebuild, no extra ask of Chris.
- Soft Touch: Tier-1 ad-funder on OO's record (alongside Elite). Weakest organic AI position of all 9 movers (33/100 in our Phase 1 audit) which makes ADS-FIRST the right strategic shape. John has stated he wants more quality leads (his pain is too many low-budget enquiries) - ChatGPT ads pre-qualify on intent.
- Bobcat: 5.0 stars / 638 reviews is best-in-portfolio review profile. Blake is engaged on growth (recent calls). San Marcos / Wimberley / Austin geo is uncrowded by other ChatGPT advertisers right now.
Why not the others first: Elite + Moving Pro need LP form fixes before launch (worth doing, just adds a step). Maestro's math is marginal and reprice conversation is ahead (15 May). MW + ANC + Lankford are GO but each has one ahead-of-launch task (schema fix, senior-move cluster build, schema fix). Howard / Soft Touch / Bobcat are clean.
Plus we run onlineoptimisers.net in parallel as the eat-own-dogfood test. Same campaign launch sequence, OO is the advertiser of record. The case study from running ads on ourselves becomes the strongest sales asset for the rest of the portfolio.
6What we need from you (Tomas)
- Open the Howard audit (link in the table above) and read the recommendation block + scenario table - that's the conversation pattern we'll use with all of them.
- For Howard, Soft Touch, Bobcat: when ready, you pitch adding ChatGPT ads to their retainer. We send the proposal, you close.
- Pricing: setup $2.5-5k one-time + $1.5-3k/mo management + 15% of spend. Recommended client spend: $5,000/month per campaign.
- What to say when asked "is it new?" - "Yes. That's the point. We're getting our clients in before the auction crowds. The first 90 days are imprecise across the industry, we're transparent about that, and the kill-switch on our playbook pauses any campaign within an hour if metrics go bad."
7All audits, in one place
GO (clean launch candidates - ready when waitlist clears)
Lankford Roofing (13.4x - schema fix first)view audit
GO with conditions (LP fixes or pricing conversation needed first)
Moving Pro (2.15x - LP form fix + retainer reanchor)view audit
Maestro Movers (0.58x - marginal, park until reprice)view audit
BLOCKED (vertical excluded)
Advanced Center Cosmetic Dentistry (health vertical)view audit
Internal: OO + Donal + Tony properties
onlineoptimisers.net (GO - eat-own-dogfood, strongest in portfolio)view audit
one.ie (GO with conditions - define conversion + ship marketing page)view audit
agent-launch.ai (WAIT - vertical risk + audience mismatch + LP gap)view audit