Big moves from OpenAI this week – they are innovating around ChatGPT.
They’ve officially launched their own browser, ChatGPT Atlas, and it’s a huge step forward in how people will discover, search, and engage online.
ChatGPT Atlas Browser – click image to view
For marketers, this marks a real turning point.
Atlas brings ChatGPT directly into the browsing experience, meaning users can ask, compare, and decide without ever hitting Google. That’s a fundamental shift in where attention and discovery happen.
Advertising is possible
OpenAI has also confirmed that ads inside ChatGPT are coming soon to New Zealand, with full rollout expected in 2026 – And that’s a good thing.
It’s not about losing Google. It’s about gaining a new, highly contextual environment where brands can engage people earlier, smarter, and with real intent data behind it.
For agencies and advertisers, this means a more complete ecosystem where SEO, Google, Meta, and ChatGPT placements all work together to reach people at every stage of intent. This is really just an enhancement of the 4 stages of SEO evolution.
We’re already exploring how to integrate this next wave of AI-driven media into our performance frameworks alongside OOH and programmatic placements to make sure our clients stay visible, relevant, and ahead of the curve.
The future of digital isn’t just search.
It’s conversation, discovery, and action all happening at once.
Is this what my old primary school teacher called “a silly question”?
When is business spend a cost and when is it an investment? An investment brings a financial return that’s greater than the amount you spent. Costs like rent and utility bills don’t do that – yet these can make you wince.
You only pay for Google Ads when your campaign delivers a result. In most cases a customer clicking on your ads to visit your website or clicking to call your business phone number.
Offline forms of advertising such as billboards, direct mail, or printed media, are charged at a fixed price. You want a billboard, you pay for it.
numero’s performance marketing team sees PPC spend as either a cost or an investment. Why? Because AdWords is a tool and it can be set up as a high-return investment or as a cost. Many clients come to us convinced that it’s a cost and, after working with us, they revise their view to see it as an investment. Here’s why.
The difference lies in the strategy, measurement and management of your advertising inventory. At a minimum numero® resolves to get you a positive return on ad spend (ROAS).
When ads drain your resources
If you are keen on a set-and-forget type of paid marketing you won’t get a positive return. Signs that this has happened is if your campaigns don’t have clear goals, proper keyword research and negative keywords. You will be spending on irrelevant clicks.
Poor conversion mechanics such as sending clicks to a generic web page with no clear call to action. You’ll get high bounce rates and no sales.
Vanity metrics when you love clicks but aren’t tracking cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and return on ad spend (ROAS) means your campaigns aren’t optimised.
When your advertising is not generating a return, it’s a “sunk cost”.
Set up correctly, Google Ads can be growing your business – like any investment. Here’s how to check if your ads are a positive contributor as a performance marketing channel
Clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and target CPAs, Lifetime Value (LTV) and ROAS.
Campaigns are built on data and are improved / iterated regularly. Continuous testing and refinement of your keywords, ad copy and landing pages. Allocate your marketing budget only to what actually works.
Marketing returns are scalable. You know for every $1 spent on ads you get $X back in revenue.
Ads can also be used for brand recognition, lead generation (particularly for B2B marketing) and customer loyalty. Your ROI will come through over a longer time period than direct selling ecommerce, yet it is also trackable and measurable.
Make The Change Happen
As a business owner or marketing manager you know you want Google Ads to be an investment not a cost. Yet the mindset shift needed to make this happen starts before you spend any money.
First define success by articulating your target return on investment
Track everything – you will need conversion tracking as well so that the $ value to your business for each click is known.
Use Test – Measure – Refine as the marketing cycle so that you can identify $ spend on testing as capital spent on finding profitable avenues for your advertising
Calculate your total return on ad spend (ROAS) which should be gross profit not just revenue.
