Set up your ChatGPT Ads account and invite your agency (step by step)
6 min read
OpenAI requires the business to own its Ads Manager account, so this is the one job your agency cannot do for you. Six screens, about 20 minutes, with the three settings that can never be changed.
ChatGPT Ads are bought through OpenAI Ads Manager, and OpenAI requires the business that pays for the ads to create and own the account. There is no agency manager account on the platform, so your agency cannot open it for you (OpenAI: Ads Manager account setup). The good news is that it takes about 20 minutes, most of it is one form, and once you have invited your agency they do everything else.
This guide walks the screens in order. Three settings are permanent, so read step 2 before you type anything.
Open the walkthrough full screen
Before you start
Have these beside you and the whole thing is one sitting:
- Your registered business name and ABN (or your country’s business number), exactly as they appear on the register
- Your website address, live and not behind a holding page or password
- A company card in the business’s name, issued in the same country as the business
- A work email for the login, not a shared personal one
- The email address of the person you are inviting (your agency sends it in your welcome email)
Step 1. Sign in at ads.openai.com
Go to ads.openai.com and sign in with an OpenAI account on your work email, or create one there. The ads account will live under whichever login you use, so avoid a personal or shared login. If your company already runs a ChatGPT Business or Enterprise workspace, your workspace admin first needs to give you the Ads Admin role (admin.openai.com, then Users, your profile, Direct roles, Ads Admin) (OpenAI: managing Ads users).
Step 2. Create the account (three settings are permanent)
Ads Manager offers two ways in. It can draft an ad from your website and create a campaign for you, or you can skip that and create the account first. Skip it: your agency writes your ads, and a draft campaign created here can go straight to review. If you did take the website route, pause that campaign.
On the account form, enter your advertiser name. It fills three fields at once: the account name (internal), the brand name (shown with your ads) and the legal name (used for billing and verification). All three can be edited later under Settings, although changing the legal name restarts business review (OpenAI: account setup).
Then pick the country or region, the currency and the time zone.
Tick the Advertising Terms and continue to Ads Manager.
Step 3. Add billing
Open Billing, then Billing profile. Add a company card, then the business name, billing address, invoice email and your ABN as the tax ID. Campaigns cannot deliver until billing is set up (OpenAI: billing and payment).
Two rules trip people up. The card should belong to the business and match the country the account was created in; a personal card, or a card issued in another country, may be declined and is the most common reason verification fails. And OpenAI may place a small authorisation hold on a new card that stays visible on your statement for about a week. It is not a charge.
You pay OpenAI directly for clicks on this card. Nothing passes through your agency and nothing is marked up.
Step 4. Complete business verification
A banner inside Ads Manager asks you to complete business verification so your ads can serve. Start it from that banner rather than from the email OpenAI sends; the email button has been known to open the wrong page. The form asks for your legal business name, trading name, business location, ABN, website, industry, physical address (no PO boxes) and registered address. Use the registered name exactly as it appears on your ABN record, not the trading name.
Submit it and the status reads “Application in review”. OpenAI gives no timeframe and says it cannot expedite reviews; advertisers report 2 to 12 days (OpenAI: Ads Manager FAQ). Until it clears, campaigns show as Not serving. That wait is the reason to create the account on day one.
Step 5. Invite your agency as an Admin
Go to Settings, then Users, then Invite. Enter the email address from your welcome email and choose the Admin role (OpenAI: account setup). The roles are:
- Admin: full access, including the settings needed for conversion tracking and API keys. This is the one your agency needs.
- Member: can create and manage campaigns, but cannot reach account settings.
- Viewer: view only.
Your agency accepts the invite with that same email address. You stay the owner of the account, you can change their role or remove them at any time, and one agency login can be invited into many client accounts, so nobody is ever sharing a password.
Step 6. Create an API key (once verified)
Once verification has cleared, open Settings, then API keys, and create a key named after your agency. Each key is scoped to this one ad account and can be revoked at any time (OpenAI: Ads API overview). It is what your agency’s campaign tools run on: reporting, conversion tracking and the daily checks on your campaign. Copy it once and send it through the secure link on your dashboard, never by email.
What happens next
Within five business days of verification clearing and the invite being accepted, your campaign is live. Reports land in your dashboard, you pay OpenAI for clicks on your own card, and your agency does the rest.
The mistakes we see most
- The trading name typed where the registered name belongs
- A personal card, or a card issued in another country
- The wrong country, currency or time zone, which cannot be undone
- A website still behind a holding page or password at verification time
- The invite accepted from a different email address than the one invited
Where to go next
If you would rather have someone beside you, Nitro Ads for ChatGPT includes a 20-minute screen-share where you set the account up with one of our people, then we build the funnel, install the tracking and run the campaign inside your own Ads Manager. For how the ads themselves work, read How ChatGPT Ads work.
Frequently asked questions
Can my agency create the ChatGPT Ads account for me?
No. OpenAI requires the advertiser to create and own the Ads Manager account, and there is no agency manager account on the platform. You create it, verify the business and invite your agency in. One agency login can be invited into many client accounts, so nobody shares a password.
Which settings cannot be changed after the account is created?
Country or region, currency and time zone. OpenAI's own wording is that these three settings cannot be changed after account creation. The account, brand and legal name fields can be edited later under Settings, although changing the legal name restarts business review.
Does my agency see my card details?
No. Billing lives in your own account and OpenAI bills ad spend to your card directly. An invited Admin can see spend and invoices but never the card itself, and you can remove the user at any time.
How long does business verification take?
OpenAI gives no timeframe and says it cannot expedite reviews. Advertisers report anywhere from 2 to 12 days. Until it clears, campaigns show as Not serving, which is why it is worth starting the account on day one.
What role should I give my agency?
Admin. Member can create and manage campaigns but cannot reach the settings needed for conversion tracking and API keys. Viewer is read only. You stay the owner whichever role you grant.
