How to Set Up ChatGPT Ads Conversion Tracking

Before you start

Ads in ChatGPT appear below answers for logged-in users on the Free and Go plans. OpenAI offers impression (CPM), click (CPC) and conversion-optimised click (oCPC) bidding. Conversion-optimised campaigns require active tracking through the pixel, the Conversions API or both, and optimise towards exactly one standard event — which cannot be changed after the campaign is created (OpenAI developer docs). So tracking is not optional; it decides what the campaign learns.

You need:

• Access to OpenAI Ads Manager for your ad account.
• The ability to edit your site's <head>, or a tag manager.
• For server events, access to your server code, a server-side tag manager, or a plugin.

Step 1 — Create a Pixel ID and Conversions API key

In Ads Manager, create a data source in the conversions area. That gives you a Pixel ID. From the same place, generate a Conversions API key for server-to-server events. Treat the key like a password: it belongs on your server, never in page code.

Step 2 — Install the measurement pixel on every page

The pixel is an asynchronous script that creates a global oaiq function. Place it as high in the <head> as you can so early conversions are not lost, then initialise it:

oaiq("init", { pixelId: "YOUR-PIXEL-ID" });

It belongs on every page, not just the thank-you page, because it also captures the click identifier described in step 5.

Step 3 — Fire the right standard events

OpenAI supports these standard events (measurement pixel docs):

Custom events are allowed too, but custom events cannot be optimisation goals for conversion-optimised campaigns. Map your important conversions to the closest standard event. Give every event a unique event ID — an order number works well for purchases.

Step 4 — Send the same events through the Conversions API

Browser tracking misses conversions to ad blockers, browser restrictions and people closing the tab before the thank-you page loads. The Conversions API sends conversions from your server too. OpenAI recommends using both together with the same event ID for the same conversion, so it can deduplicate them (OpenAI Help Center).

The deduplication rule is simple and unforgiving: same Pixel ID, same event name, same event ID. Get any of them wrong and every conversion counts twice.

Step 5 — Keep the oppref click identifier

When someone clicks a ChatGPT ad, an oppref parameter is added to your landing-page URL. The pixel captures it and stores it in a first-party __oppref cookie for 30 days, refreshing it on each new click. Server events need that value forwarded with them, or OpenAI cannot connect the conversion to the click.

This is the most common silent failure in server-side setups: conversions arrive, but none are attributed. Read the cookie on the server (or pass it through your checkout or form) and include it in every API event.

Step 6 — Handle consent

Where consent is required, set it before initialisation and only enable measurement once the visitor agrees:

oaiq("consent", false); // before init, if consent is required oaiq("consent", true); // after the visitor accepts

Customer data such as email is normalised and hashed with SHA-256 in the browser before it is sent; raw customer information is not transmitted.

Step 7 — Test before you spend

1. Visit your site through a URL with a test oppref value, or click a live ad.
2. Complete a real conversion — a test order or form submission.
3. Check Ads Manager for the event, and confirm it appears once, not twice.
4. Check your server logs or tag manager for the API call and its response.

Doing it on WordPress and WooCommerce

ConvoPixel is a free WordPress plugin I built that does all of the above: it installs the pixel, sends server events through the Conversions API with a background queue, shares event IDs for deduplication, preserves oppref, hashes customer data, and detects leads from ten common form plugins plus WooCommerce purchases. Setup is pasting a Pixel ID and API key.

If you would rather have someone set it up and run the campaigns, see ChatGPT Ads consulting.