What if one could give more context to ChatGPT in order to make the advertisement more relevant, without filling the content with keywords?
This is exactly where the purpose of ChatGPT Ads Context Hints comes into play.
Context Hints help OpenAI to get more context about a user’s product or service. It may specify what is offered by the user, who can benefit from that and under which conditions the information may become relevant in the ChatGPT conversation.
Nevertheless, there is an important point that should be mentioned: Context Hints are not keywords or targeting instructions. Though they are helpful in the process of making advertisements more relevant, they do not define in which exact situations and on which pages the ad should be shown.
Then how should one write the hints to make them effective?
Let’s find it out.
Table of Contents
What are ChatGPT Ads Context Hints
ChatGPT Ads Context Hints are additional information that advertisers can use at the ad group level to help OpenAI know when it is appropriate to show the ad in ChatGPT.
A Hint can provide context about:
- What it is that your business, product, or service offers
- Who the customers are
- When will the product/service be useful
- Certain features, services, price ranges, accessibility, or locations of operations
OpenAI recommends coming up with a short and clear formulation based on one single idea, instead of compiling a series of unrelated keywords.
For example, instead of simply stating:
“Accounting Software”
The Context Hint could read:
“Accounting software for freelancers who need to track expenses and file quarterly without hiring a bookkeeper”
The goal is to provide relevant context information instead of repeating the keywords.
What Changed in OpenAI’s Latest Guidance?
The latest guidelines from OpenAI give advertisers more structure for crafting Context Hints.
The key questions to ask are:
What do you offer?
Describe the relevant product, service, feature, pricing, availability, or service territory.
Who does it help?
Determine the need or preference of the customer that the product is ideal for.
When is it useful?
Discuss the situation or problem in which your product or service might be relevant.
There is no need to cover all three aspects in each hint.
According to OpenAI’s guidance on writing Context Hints, a good context hint has following attributes:
- Additional: Provide information that goes beyond the obvious
- Specific: Identify a particular product, service, need, or situation
- Relevant: Connect the product to a valid customer use case
- Accurate: Be an accurate reflection of the company’s offerings
How to Write a ChatGPT Ads Context Hint
A simple approach to crafting a ChatGPT Ads Context Hint is by combining the following three elements:
[What you offer] + [Who it helps] + [When it’s helpful]
After that, any unnecessary component can simply be eliminated.
For example:
- What: Preparation of income tax online
- Who: People having multiple sources of income
- When: When preparing the annual tax return
The final hint could be stated as:
“Online tax preparation for individuals managing multiple income sources”
The main point is whether the description actually represents what is being offered.
ChatGPT Ads Context Hints Examples
Below are some examples designed to show how advertisers can apply the Context Hint guidelines of OpenAI. These are not any Context Hints that have been released by the respective firms.
| Business / Product | Illustrative Context Hint |
| E-commerce retailer | Online shopping for customers comparing product options, prices and delivery choices |
| Tax preparation service | Online tax preparation for US taxpayers who need help filing with their annual federal tax returns |
| CRM software | CRM software for growing sales teams that need to organize customers’ relationships and follow-ups |
| Home insurance | Home insurance for homeowners comparing coverage options for their property and belongings |
| Food delivery service | Food delivery for customers looking for convenient meal options delivered to their home or workplace |
These examples are organized based on three questions posed by OpenAI in its guidelines.
A ChatGPT Ads Context Hint must describe a valid use case and not be just a collection of keywords or an instruction on how to deliver something.
Are Context Hints the Same as Keywords?
No, this is one of the most important concepts to understand in relation to ChatGPT Ads Context Hints.
Context Hints are not traditional keywords.
Instead, they provide additional information that can help OpenAI’s algorithms understand where products and services may be relevant in conversation or situations.
For example, rather than writing:
“CRM, CRM software, sales CRM, best CRM, CRM platform”
You could describe the actual customer situation:
“CRM software for growing sales teams that need to organize customer relationships and follow-ups.”
This gives more context than just a series of keywords.
How Context Hints Work With Ad Groups
Contextual Hints exist at the ad group level. OpenAI recommends organizing ad groups based on the shared product, service, topic or customer requirement.
For example, a CRM business could have separate ad groups for:
Sales CRM
This use case caters to salespeople who need to handle leads, nurture customer relationships, and undertake follow-up tasks.
Customer Support CRM
This use case is suited for businesses that need to organize customer interactions and other support data systematically.
If different use cases involve varying messaging or landing page designs, it would be best to use different ad groups.
Context Hints are just one of the many considerations when setting up and managing a ChatGPT Ads campaign. If you want to learn more about ChatGPT Ads, including Ads Manager, building campaigns, targeting signals, pricing, and ads, refer to the full guide to ChatGPT Ads and Ads Manager.
What Can Context Hints Do?
ChatGPT Ads Context Hints can provide Additional Information Regarding the Relevance of the Offer.
The hints can describe:
- The products/services offered
- The needs of customers
- The situations faced by customers
- The uses for the products
- The features of the products
- Availability
- Service location
- Pricing details when relevant and accurate
According to OpenAI, ad selection is made using a variety of signals including current conversation, intent of the user, landing page, ad title, ad content, and Context Hints from the advertiser.
This means Context Hints are one part of the broader ad-matching process.
What Can’t Context Hints Do?
Context Hints are not targeting or delivery instructions.
They don’t:
- Guarantee that an ad will appear
- Guarantee delivery to a particular audience
- Guarantee placement in a particular conversation
- Enforce geographic restrictions
- Enforce schedules
- Create exclusions
- Force an ad to appear for a specific keyword
For example:
Business context:
Software for project management created specifically for growing companies looking to manage their employees’ assignments, timelines, and processes
Delivery instruction:
“Show this ad only to companies based in the U.S.”
The first sentence explains the product and its corresponding customer needs.
The second sentence is a delivery instruction dictating where the ad should be shown.
This is important for specifying ChatGPT Ads Context Hints.
Common ChatGPT Ads Context Hints Mistakes
Using a keyword list
Avoid stuffing multiple unrelated keywords into one hint.
Writing vague hints
A phrase such as:
“Software for businesses.”
Has little to offer in terms of context.
More precision could be gained by stating the customer need or situational context.
Turning hints into targeting instructions
Do not write:
“Show this ad only to people in the U.S.”
That is a delivery instruction, not a Context Hint.
Adding inaccurate information
The hints you provide must be accurate with respect to the services actually being provided. If you make any mention of costs, availability, features, or geographic coverage, these must be up-to-date.
Mixing unrelated customer needs
Maintain a clear purpose when creating hints that match the purpose of the ad group. When two purposes require different messages or landing pages, it would be better to create different ad groups.
How to Create Better ChatGPT Ads Context Hints
Before adding a hint, ask yourself:
What am I selling?
What product or service is being advertised in this particular group?
Who is it relevant to?
What need or occasion is covered by the advertisement?
When would someone need it?
What situation might drive someone to purchase it?
Is the statement correct?
Is it consistent with the real product, service, price, availability and/or service area?
Does it add useful context?
Is the hint relevant, rather than simply repeating the headline of the advertisement?
Thus, this approach helps keep Context Hints clear, natural, and practical.
A Simple ChatGPT Ads Context Hints Formula
Apply this basic formula:
[Offering] + [Customer need] + [Relevant situation]
For example:
“Bookkeeping software for growing retailers that need to reconcile online and in-store sales.”
The most powerful hints may not necessarily be the longest, but they provide the exact and correct context regarding the true customer need.
Important Detail for Bulk Uploads
In case the ChatGPT Ads campaign is launched using bulk upload, the Context Hints will be added in the Ad Groups section in OpenAI’s campaign structure.
The current bulk upload guide mentions that Context Hints are in the form of a JSON array as below:
[“hint1”, “hint2”]
The hints need to be correctly formatted before submitting the marketing campaign.
Fleviko’s Take
ChatGPT Ads Context Hints can be interpreted as a relevancy layer rather than being a set of keywords.
The aim here is to supply OpenAI with exact details about the product or service being provided, the target audience, and the conditions in which the offering might be helpful, making sure that each hint is unique, realistic, and correct.
The main mistake is to try using Context Hints as regular search keywords or targeting terms. What needs to be done instead is to think of the real client situation.
A good Context Hint goes beyond just describing the product, but rather offers relevant context on how the product or service is relevant to a particular customer’s need or case.
With further development of ChatGPT Ads, it is necessary for advertisers to keep their Context Hints consistent with actual products, prices, landing pages, availability, and customer cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are ChatGPT Ads Context Hints?
They are additional information provided by the advertisers at the ad group level for OpenAI to help assess the situations where the product or service might be relevant in ChatGPT.
2. Are ChatGPT Ads Context Hints keywords?
No. Context Hints are not exact-match keywords or traditional targeting rules.
3. Do Context Hints guarantee ad delivery?
No, they play a role in situating ad relevance but do not necessarily ensure that an advertisement is shown within any particular discussion, audience, or situation.
4. Where are Context Hints added?
Context hints are added at the ad-group level in ChatGPT Ads.
5. How many ideas should one Context Hint contain?
OpenAI recommends the use of a clear sentence which centers around one concept as opposed to using a combination of unrelated keywords.
6. Should Context Hints match the landing page?
They must be relevant to the product being offered. The information provided on the landing page may still be valuable in the Context Hint if it ties the information to a customer need.
