This week, something new popped up while I was using ChatGPT.
An invitation to place an ad.
It’s still in beta, and it was the first time I had seen the option. I didn’t spend a lot of time wondering whether I should try it.
There was a very specific reason for that. When a new advertising platform opens up, there can be a real advantage to getting there early. There’s less competition, everyone is still learning, and you have a chance to understand how it works before it becomes crowded.
That doesn’t mean throwing a huge budget at something untested. It means putting a stake in the ground early enough to learn.
So I placed my first ad in ChatGPT.
And even writing that sentence feels significant.
AI has spent the last few years sitting in this strange space between novelty and inevitability. We’ve been talking about what it might change, experimenting with it and trying to figure out where it belongs in our businesses.
Now it is becoming part of the advertising landscape.
For years, digital marketing has followed a fairly predictable path. Businesses go where people are spending their attention. First that meant websites and search. Then social media. Then short-form video became almost impossible to ignore.
What makes this interesting to me isn’t simply that advertising is showing up in ChatGPT. It’s how people use AI in the first place. They come here looking for information, recommendations, solutions and help making decisions. And you can't beat just how easy AI makes a search.
That creates a very different environment for an advertiser.
I have no idea yet how my first campaign will perform. That’s part of the experiment.
I’m watching the results, but I’m also watching how the platform develops and how people respond to advertising inside something that feels very different from Google, Facebook or Instagram.
I’ve always believed good marketing requires being willing to test before everything feels completely comfortable. You don’t need to chase every shiny new thing, but you do need to recognize when customer behavior starts moving in a new direction.
And this feels like one of those moments.
Google isn’t going away. A Gemini ad is next on the list for me. Meta isn’t suddenly irrelevant. But another door has opened.
For a small business, that’s worth watching.
Visibility has always depended on being present where people are looking, asking and making decisions.
Yeah. AI is here.
I got the invitation.
I jumped in.
Now I’m watching what happens.
If there is a topic you’d like to hear more about, by all means comment below or direct message, and I’ll do my best.
Nothing better than a good question to jump into.
Reach out for a talk over coffee or a hike. tgold@bigwaterci.com
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Trina Gold
Master Creator
