ChatGPT Ads swaps Max Bid and Max CPC for Target CPA and Target CPC from 9 November

OpenAI is replacing the two manual bid caps in ChatGPT Ads with cost targets. From Monday 9 November 2026, new conversion campaigns in Ads Manager use Target CPA instead of Max Bid, and new click campaigns use Target CPC instead of Max CPC. Existing campaigns keep their old strategy until 1 January 2027, when Max Bid and Max CPC retire and OpenAI moves any campaign still on them to the matching target. The automated option, Maximize results, stays and is renamed intelligent bidding.

OpenAI sent the change to ChatGPT Ads advertisers by email. Search Engine Roundtable published the text of that email on 5 November 2026, in a report by Barry Schwartz on the new ChatGPT Ads bidding options. This post works from that quoted email. OpenAI's own help article, "Bidding strategies and how pricing works in ChatGPT Ads", read on 6 November 2026, confirms the same changes. Nothing below goes beyond those two sources unless it is labelled as analysis.

What OpenAI told advertisers on 5 November

The email opens with the date and the scope of the change. In OpenAI's words, as quoted by Search Engine Roundtable: "Starting Monday, November 9, you can optionally choose a cost target in Ads Manager when you create a campaign or update an existing one."

The word "optionally" matters for the first seven weeks only. Between 9 November and 31 December 2026, an advertiser can leave an existing campaign alone and it will keep serving on its current bid setting. From 1 January 2027 the choice goes away, because the two manual strategies stop existing. The email lists four changes, and each one is set out below.

Target CPA replaces Max Bid for new conversion campaigns

OpenAI said Target cost per action (Target CPA) is launching for conversion campaigns and will replace Max Bid for new conversion campaigns in Ads Manager. The advertiser sets "the average amount you'd like to pay for a conversion, such as a purchase or lead," and OpenAI's system "adjusts bids and delivery toward that target."

Existing conversion campaigns continue to serve as Max Bid campaigns. Advertisers can switch them to Target CPA if they want delivery steered toward a target cost per conversion.

Target CPC replaces Max CPC for new click campaigns

Target cost per click (Target CPC) launches for click campaigns and replaces Max CPC for new click campaigns. OpenAI drew the difference in one sentence: "While Max CPC caps individual bids, Target CPC lets our system bid above or below your target in each auction." According to the email, the system aims to deliver as many clicks as possible from the budget while working toward the average CPC the advertiser sets.

Existing click campaigns keep serving as maximum CPC campaigns, with the option to switch.

Max Bid and Max CPC retire on 1 January 2027

OpenAI wrote that "Max Bid and Max CPC will retire on January 1, 2027." Conversion campaigns still on Max Bid at that point move to Target CPA. Click campaigns still on Max CPC move to Target CPC. The email does not say what target value OpenAI will assign to a campaign it converts automatically.

Maximize results becomes intelligent bidding

The fully automated strategy stays. OpenAI described Maximize results (autobid) as "part of our intelligent-by-default approach, now called intelligent bidding." The system will continue to adjust bids and delivery automatically to get the most results from the budget. This is a rename, and the email describes no change to how the strategy works.

The ChatGPT Ads bidding timeline at a glance

The table below sets the four changes against their dates, using only what OpenAI's email states.

What is new compared with earlier ChatGPT Ads bidding changes

Relevant Audience has reported on ChatGPT Ads bidding several times before, and this update closes a gap the earlier changes left open.

On 8 August 2026, Relevant Audience reported that OpenAI had put conversion-optimised cost-per-click (oCPC) campaigns into beta for product feed campaigns, supporting click-billed campaigns with fixed or manual bidding and a positive conversion bid cap. That was a cap, set by the advertiser, on what a conversion could cost in the bid.

On 23 August 2026, Relevant Audience reported that OpenAI had made Maximize results the preselected bid strategy for eligible new ad groups. At the time, OpenAI's documentation said that strategy did not guarantee delivery against a specific CPA, CPC, ROAS or other cost-efficiency target, and Manual: Max bid was the only documented bid ceiling.

On 24 September 2026, in its coverage of the Thai launch, Relevant Audience described buying as auction-based on impressions (maximum CPM) or valid clicks (maximum CPC), based on OpenAI's own documentation at the time.

So until this email, an advertiser in ChatGPT Ads had two kinds of control: a hard ceiling on the bid, or no cost control at all through Maximize results. The 5 November email adds the middle option, an average cost goal the system steers toward, and then removes the ceilings. After 1 January 2027, on RA's reading of the email, the choices for conversion and click campaigns are a target or intelligent bidding.

Why a target is not the same as a cap

Analysis. The practical difference between the old and new strategies sits in one phrase from the email: Target CPC "lets our system bid above or below your target in each auction."

Under Max CPC, the number the advertiser entered was the most the system could bid in any single auction. Spend per click could come in lower, but it could not go above that figure. Under Target CPC, the number is an average the system works toward across many auctions. Some individual clicks will be bought above the target and some below. An advertiser who used Max CPC as a hard limit for a client with a strict cost ceiling no longer has that guarantee per click.

The same logic applies on the conversion side. Max Bid set a ceiling. Target CPA states "the average amount you'd like to pay for a conversion," and the system adjusts "bids and delivery" toward it. The word delivery is worth noting: the email says the system adjusts how much the campaign serves as well as what it bids. A target that is too low for the auctions available can mean the campaign simply serves less.

OpenAI said this itself in its recommendations: "Restrictive targets or weak conversion signals can reduce ad delivery and leave budget unspent." That sentence is the clearest statement in the email of how the new strategies can fail, and it points at two separate causes: a target set below what the market supports, and a conversion signal the system cannot learn from.

The name Target CPA will be familiar to anyone who runs Google Ads campaigns, where a bid strategy carries the same name. The email does not compare the two products, and how closely OpenAI's version behaves like Google's is not something the source addresses.

OpenAI's three recommendations before the switch

The email ends with three recommendations. They are listed here as OpenAI wrote them, followed by what each means in an account.

1. Start your transition now. OpenAI wrote: "Review your campaigns today and begin moving to Target CPA and Target CPC on November 9."
2. Check conversion signals. For conversion campaigns, OpenAI asked advertisers to "confirm Pixel or Conversions API is sending the selected event to the data source linked to your campaign," and to use Event Quality Score (EQS) warnings to find signal-quality issues and close gaps now.
3. Review bids against actual CPA or CPC. OpenAI advised using recent actual CPA or CPC to choose realistic targets, and setting or adjusting them during the transition.

What the conversion signal check involves

The second recommendation is the one with the most work in it. Target CPA can only steer toward a cost per conversion if the campaign is receiving the conversion it is meant to optimise for. OpenAI's wording names three things that have to line up: the event selected in the campaign, the data source linked to the campaign, and the pixel or Conversions API actually sending that event to that data source.

A mismatch between any two of them would leave the campaign optimising on an event that never arrives, or arrives in the wrong place. The email points to Event Quality Score warnings as the tool for finding these issues. It gives no EQS threshold that a campaign needs to reach before Target CPA will work well.

Why recent actual costs matter for the target

Analysis. The third recommendation asks advertisers to base targets on what campaigns have actually been paying, not on what they would like to pay. A campaign that has been running on Max CPC at a given ceiling will have a recorded average CPC below or at that ceiling. That recorded average is a more realistic starting point for Target CPC than the old ceiling or a hoped-for figure, and OpenAI's warning about restrictive targets suggests that starting too low carries a delivery cost.

What the email did not say

Several details an advertiser would want were not in the email as quoted by Search Engine Roundtable. Where the source is silent, that is stated here rather than filled in.

• The email did not say what target value OpenAI will apply to campaigns it converts on 1 January 2027, or whether it will use the old bid figure.
• It did not mention impression-based (maximum CPM) buying, which RA's September coverage described as one of the two auction models. Whether reach campaigns are affected is not stated.
• It did not say how the change applies to the oCPC beta for product feed campaigns and its conversion bid cap.
• It gave no minimum conversion volume, learning period or ramp-up time for Target CPA.
• It did not mention any market-by-market differences, so there is nothing specific to Thailand in the source.

What this means for Thai marketers

ChatGPT Ads has been open for self-serve buying in Thailand since OpenAI's 23 September 2026 rollout, so any Thai advertiser who set up a click campaign on Max CPC or a conversion campaign on Max Bid is inside this change. Nothing in the email treats Thailand differently from other markets.

Thai accounts have two dates to plan around. From 9 November, a new conversion or click campaign that wants a cost goal uses Target CPA or Target CPC instead of Max Bid or Max CPC. By 1 January 2027, every remaining manual campaign will be moved by OpenAI. Moving a campaign yourself in November or December, with a target based on its own recent costs, keeps that decision with the advertiser rather than leaving it to the automatic switch, whose target value the email did not describe.

For conversion campaigns, the pixel or Conversions API check comes first. A Thai ecommerce or lead-generation account that sends the wrong event, or sends it to a data source not linked to the campaign, would be setting a Target CPA against a signal that does not reach the system. That is the case OpenAI warned could reduce delivery and leave budget unspent.

A short checklist before 9 November and 1 January

• List every ChatGPT Ads campaign and note whether it uses Max Bid, Max CPC or Maximize results.
• Pull the recent actual CPA or CPC for each Max Bid and Max CPC campaign, as OpenAI recommended.
• For each conversion campaign, confirm the selected event, the linked data source and that the pixel or Conversions API sends that event there.
• Review Event Quality Score warnings and fix what they flag.
• Decide which campaigns to move after 9 November and which, if any, to leave for OpenAI's 1 January switch.
• If a client relied on Max CPC as a hard per-click limit, explain that Target CPC is an average and individual clicks can cost more.

FAQ

When does Target CPA become available in ChatGPT Ads?

Target CPA becomes available in ChatGPT Ads Manager on Monday 9 November 2026, according to OpenAI's email to advertisers. From that date it replaces Max Bid for new conversion campaigns, and existing conversion campaigns can be switched to it.

Do I have to change my existing ChatGPT Ads campaigns?

Not before 1 January 2027, when OpenAI retires Max Bid and Max CPC and moves any remaining campaigns to Target CPA or Target CPC. Until then, existing campaigns keep serving on their current strategy, though OpenAI recommends starting the transition on 9 November.

What is the difference between Max CPC and Target CPC?

Max CPC caps each individual bid, while Target CPC is an average the system works toward and lets it bid above or below the target in each auction. OpenAI said Target CPC aims to deliver as many clicks as possible from the budget while working toward the average CPC the advertiser sets.

Is Maximize results going away?

No, Maximize results (autobid) continues and is now called intelligent bidding. OpenAI said the system will keep adjusting bids and delivery automatically to get the most results from the budget.

Is this change live for advertisers in Thailand?

The email gives no market exceptions, so it applies to ChatGPT Ads advertisers generally, including those in Thailand, where self-serve buying opened on 23 September 2026. The source did not mention Thailand specifically.

Plan the move before OpenAI makes it for you

The window between 9 November 2026 and 1 January 2027 is when an advertiser can choose each campaign's target from its own cost history and check its conversion setup first. After that date the switch happens anyway. If your team wants help reviewing ChatGPT Ads campaigns, conversion tracking and targets ahead of the deadline, Relevant Audience's ChatGPT Ads management service covers setup and ongoing optimisation for Thai advertisers.