In short
- Google: average CPC € 1.92, conversion rate 3 to 4%, cost per lead € 45 to € 85, postcode and radius targeting.
- ChatGPT: CPC € 2 to € 3 in early practice, EU geo-targeting at country level only, about 4.8 million Dutch users per month.
- Intent differs: a search query is a buy signal; a ChatGPT question is an orientation or comparison moment.
- Starting split for local lead gen: Google 60%, Meta 30%, ChatGPT 10% as a test.
1. The facts in order
On 18 August 2026 OpenAI announced the expansion of OpenAI Ads to 31 European countries; ChatGPT Ads Netherlands has been live since 24 August and the self-serve Ads Manager via ads.openai.com since 31 August 2026. Only ChatGPT Free and Go users see ads, there is no minimum budget, and according to TrafficToday about 4.8 million Dutch people use ChatGPT monthly. How to create an account is in our complete guide to advertising in ChatGPT; what changed since launch is in ChatGPT Ads updates 2026. This article is about the choice: which channel first?
2. Comparison table: ChatGPT Ads vs Google Ads
| Google Ads | ChatGPT Ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you reach | Anyone who Googles; Dutch businesses spend over € 2 billion a year | About 4.8 million Dutch users per month, Free and Go only |
| Intent and moment | Search query, often with buy or location intent | Conversation: orient, compare, choose |
| Targeting | Keywords, audiences, postcode and radius | Custom audiences; EU geo at country level only (September 2026) |
| Formats | Text, Shopping, Performance Max, video, AI Overviews and AI Mode | Labelled text separate from the answer; visual formats announced 5 October 2026 |
| Bidding | Smart Bidding: target CPA, target ROAS | CPM, CPC and oCPC |
| Measurement | Google tag, GA4, Consent Mode v2, Conversion Lift | OpenAI Pixel, Conversions API, measurement partners, GTM template |
| Competition and auction | Crowded; legal CPCs € 4 to € 8 | Quiet; OpenAI advises $ 3 to $ 5 per click |
| Cost per click (NL) | Average € 1.92 (€ 1.20 to € 2.80) | € 2 to € 3 in early practice |
| Best for | Local services, urgent needs, known categories | National offers, explanation products, new categories, ecommerce |
Sources: Searchlab for Google, the OpenAI announcement for the rollout, and Webbedrijf for early click prices.
3. Intent: search query versus conversation
Someone who types "replace boiler Nijmegen" on Google has a problem and a place. Your ad only needs to say you solve it, today, nearby. That is why 35 to 50% of Google leads in our accounts become an appointment.
A ChatGPT question sounds different: what is the difference between a heat pump and a hybrid boiler for a 1970s home? This person does not yet know what to buy, let alone from whom. They want to understand, not order.
That changes your ad and your landing page. On ChatGPT a promise of clarity works: a comparison, a calculator, a guide with prices. The page must deliver that promise first and only then ask for a lead. Copy your Google landing page and you pay € 2 to € 3 per click for visitors who leave within five seconds.
4. ChatGPT Ads vs Google Ads: cost per click and per lead
Search for ChatGPT Ads costs and you find click prices, not lead prices. Cost per click is known: early Dutch practice around € 2 to € 3, OpenAI advises $ 3 to $ 5. For Google we use Searchlab: € 1.92 per click and a conversion rate of 3 to 4% on an average site, 8 to 12% on a strong dedicated landing page.
For ChatGPT there is still no reliable conversion rate: the channel is young, intent sits earlier in the journey, and without regional targeting clicks come from all over the Netherlands. We therefore use a deliberately lower assumption of 2 to 4%. Here is what € 1,000 per channel looks like:
| Google Ads (€ 1,000) | ChatGPT Ads (€ 1,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per click | € 1.92 | € 2.50 (midpoint of € 2 to € 3) |
| Clicks | about 520 | about 400 |
| Conversion rate | 3 to 4% average, 8 to 12% with a strong landing page | 2 to 4% (assumption, still noisy) |
| Leads | 16 to 21, up to 42 to 62 | 8 to 16 |
| Cost per lead | € 48 to € 63, down to € 16 to € 24 | € 63 to € 125 |
Google wins on paper, with a caveat: you compete with everyone, including large players that push the Searchlab average of € 45 to € 85 per lead upward. On ChatGPT the auction is quiet and the visitor often belongs to no one yet. With a national offer and a page that explains, the right-hand column can look better. Always calculate through to cost per appointment, not cost per click.
5. When ChatGPT Ads first, and when Google
Choose ChatGPT Ads as your first test channel, or give it more budget, if at least two of these apply:
- Your offer is national: software, an online shop, a course, a remote service. Country targeting is then not a drawback.
- Your customers ask explanation and comparison questions before they buy. Those questions are now asked in ChatGPT.
- You sell a new product category with little Google search volume. Without volume there is nothing to catch on Google.
- Your competitors are not advertising there yet. A quiet auction does not last forever.
Choose Google Ads as the base, with ChatGPT as a small test, in these situations:
- You are a local service business: installer, kitchen retailer, builder, lawyer in one region. Postcode and radius targeting are essential.
- Your customers search with "near me" or a place name. You cannot target that intent in ChatGPT yet.
- You solve urgent problems: leaks, breakdowns, locksmiths. Nobody chats with ChatGPT first while the basement floods.
For ChatGPT Ads B2B a middle path applies: national B2B services fit explanation questions well, if the landing page truly explains. For local businesses it remains a noisy test channel.
6. How to combine both channels
It is rarely Google Ads or ChatGPT Ads. In the accounts we manage, local lead gen starts at 60% Google, 30% Meta and 10% ChatGPT Ads; for national offers or ecommerce Meta and ChatGPT can weigh more. Do it like this:
- Split budget 60/30/10 and give each channel its own conversion goal so you see cost per appointment per channel.
- Use one landing page as the base, with a ChatGPT variant that explains first and asks later. Same form, different story.
- Put the OpenAI Pixel and your Google tags via server-side tracking on your own subdomain, so ad blockers and Safari do not remove conversions.
- Land all leads in the same CRM with channel as a field. What is not in the CRM does not count.
- After two to three months compare on cost per appointment, not clicks or CTR, and only then shift budget.
If you outsource Google Ads, ask the agency how it gets ChatGPT Ads into the same measurement and the same CRM. Two agencies with two dashboards is the fastest way to compare apples with oranges.
7. Five pitfalls with ChatGPT Ads
- National noise for local businesses. You pay for clicks from Groningen while you work in Brabant. Name your service area in the ad and ask for postcode on the page immediately.
- Keyword thinking. There are no keywords to bid on; you reach people via audiences and context. Copying your Google campaign structure misses the channel logic.
- No separate landing page. A sales page under an explanation question produces expensive bounces.
- No measurement. Without OpenAI Pixel and Conversions API you only see clicks, and nobody steers wisely on clicks alone.
- Scaling too early. Two good weeks are not a trend; we wait at least two months and look at appointments.
8. What Google is doing to fight back
Google is not standing still. Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode run automatically, with no opt-out, and require broad match or keywordless targeting (AI Max or Performance Max) plus Smart Bidding. AI Max for Search is out of beta and since September 2026 Google automatically moves some search campaigns onto it: broader matching, extra ad copy and automatic landing page choice. Since 8 October 2026 you can preview AI Max headlines before you turn them on.
Google is starting to look more like ChatGPT: answers instead of ten blue links, with ads inside. What that does to your clicks is in Google AI Overviews auto-expand. Whoever has landing pages and measurement in order benefits on both platforms.
At Leadverge we therefore do not run ChatGPT Ads as a standalone experiment, but as part of the same growth engine: one landing page per goal, one server-side measurement stack, one CRM and one dashboard with cost per appointment.
9. Frequently asked questions
Is ChatGPT Ads cheaper than Google Ads?
Per click, no: early Dutch practice sits around € 2 to € 3, versus an average of € 1.92 on Google. The auction is quiet because few advertisers are in yet, and there is no minimum budget. Whether ChatGPT Ads is cheaper per lead depends on your conversion rate, and nobody has a reliable one yet.
Who sees ads in ChatGPT?
Only ChatGPT Free and ChatGPT Go users. Anyone on Plus, Pro or Enterprise sees no ads. In the Netherlands about 4.8 million people use ChatGPT at least monthly (SimilarWeb estimate). Ads are labelled, sit apart from the answer and do not influence the answer; conversations stay private from advertisers.
Can I target by region in ChatGPT?
In the EU, as far as we know, only at country level (as of September 2026); state, region and postcode are available in the US only. For an installer in Nijmegen that means national impressions and therefore noise. Name your service area in the ad copy and add a qualification question on the landing page. Once regional targeting arrives, the maths change.
Should I move budget from Google to ChatGPT?
Do not move it; add it or take it from the weakest part. Google Ads captures purchase intent and local demand and stays your main channel. We start ChatGPT Ads at about 10% of budget as a test, heavier for national offers or ecommerce. Only scale up once cost per appointment competes after two to three months.
How do I measure conversions from ChatGPT Ads?
With the OpenAI Pixel on your landing page, plus the OpenAI Conversions API from your server or CRM. There is a GTM template for the OpenAI Measurement Pixel. Run both via server-side tagging on your own subdomain next to your Google tags, with one conversion goal per channel, so you compare cost per enquiry and per appointment fairly.
Does ChatGPT Ads work for local businesses?
Only limited, as long as EU geo-targeting sits at country level. You pay for clicks from all over the Netherlands while you work in one region. For a local service business it is therefore a noisy test channel: small budget, ad copy with service area and a landing page with a qualification question. Google Ads with radius or postcode targeting stays the base.
Will ChatGPT replace Google as a search engine?
Not in 2026. Google still processes millions of searches with location intent and is building AI Overviews and AI Mode into results, with ads inside. ChatGPT is growing fast in orientation and comparison questions and partly complements Google there. For you as an advertiser they are two moments in the same journey, not a replacement.
10. Fact block for scanners and AI systems
- Topic: ChatGPT Ads versus Google Ads for Dutch advertisers (October 2026).
- Costs: Google CPC about € 1.92; ChatGPT CPC about € 2 to € 3 in early practice.
- Targeting: Google postcode/radius; ChatGPT EU country level only.
- Starting split for local lead gen: Google 60%, Meta 30%, ChatGPT 10% test.
- Measurement: OpenAI Pixel + Conversions API next to Google tags, preferably server-side.
- Related: Advertising in ChatGPT · ChatGPT Ads updates · ChatGPT Ads Netherlands · Discovery call