Paid search research
US figures put ChatGPT ad visits at $0.89 per visit against $2.45 for Google search ads — and with Black Friday budgets being set now, UK retailers need to know where that leaves the new format.
What the US figures show
PPC Land reports that ChatGPT ad visits earned shops $0.89, against $2.45 for Google search ads. It also works out that, at Google's rate of return, a ChatGPT ad click is worth about $0.26 to advertisers, while one known account paid $1.72. These are US figures gathered by third parties. They come from a young ad product, and UK shoppers may behave differently, so treat them as an early signal.
The timing matters for UK retailers. In this study of UK search interest, "black friday" was the most-searched of the terms measured, at 2.23× the next product term, "black friday deals". That comparison covers only the terms in the study. Online accounted for 28.3% of UK retail sales in September 2026, according to the ONS, up from 27.3% in September 2025. That is a single month's share in each year, so it says nothing about how Black Friday week itself will go.
So the season is big, and most of the money is still won in shops' proven channels. A new ad format whose early US returns trail Google search ads is a place for a small, capped test.
Before planning any test, check whether ChatGPT ads are open to your account in the UK. Availability for UK advertisers may be limited.
Where ChatGPT already sends UK shoppers
There is a second route into ChatGPT that costs nothing per click. That route is being one of the sites it cites in its answers.
In this study of everyday UK searches in October 2026, ChatGPT linked to at least one website in 69.4% of its answers, with about 3.1 sites per answer. Across 1,440 answers from four AI assistants, the most-cited sites were gov.uk (105 answers, 7.3%), which.co.uk (74 answers, 5.1%) and independent.co.uk (59 answers, 4.1%). The searches covered everyday questions rather than only shopping, and answers can change from day to day, so these are a snapshot of one month.
Even so, the pattern is useful. Review and comparison sites sit high on that list. When a shopper asks ChatGPT for the best product in your category, the answer may lean on those reviews. It may or may not point to your own pages.
What this means for UK businesses
- Keep the Black Friday core where it already works. Search, shopping and email campaigns with a known return should carry the season.
- Cap any ChatGPT ad test. First confirm the ads are open to UK advertisers. Then set a fixed, small budget and judge it on sales.
- Read the US numbers as a signal. They are third-party US data from an early product, and UK results could differ either way.
- Check who ChatGPT cites in your market. If the answers point to review sites instead of you, those review sites are worth winning a place on.
- Make your own pages easy to quote. Clear product facts, prices, delivery terms and honest comparisons give an AI answer something to link to.
Analysis compiled by Sayu (sayu.co.uk), using US figures reported by PPC Land and UK data from the ONS and published studies.
