In Google Ads you choose keywords. ChatGPT Ads has none: instead there are context hints, sentences that explain which conversations your product fits. You write them in Ads Manager, OpenAI's self-serve tool, or via the API. They are your intent lever, and the easiest one to fill in badly.
In the European Economic Area (EEA, Spain included) and Switzerland they matter even more. Personalised ads aren't available there yet, and campaigns targeting those countries don't support custom audiences either: matching relies on the conversation and on what you declare.
What they are (and what they aren't)
According to OpenAI, context hints:
- Are set at ad group level.
- Describe the conversations, topics or keywords in which your product may be relevant.
- Guide matching, but are not exact-match keywords and don't guarantee delivery in any particular conversation.
- Are capped at 2,000 per ad group (API documentation).
They aren't targeting either: countries, platforms and, outside the EEA and Switzerland, custom audiences are set in the campaign. The official example: "Lightweight trail running shoes for rocky terrain".
How they feed into ad selection
OpenAI chooses ads on expected relevance and performance, using these signals: the conversation's context and intent, the landing page, title, body text, your hints and your targeting. In the auction (second-price, weighted by relevance), both relevance and bid count.
A hint never works alone: if it describes "families looking for a weekend away with young children" and the ad talks about something else, the signals clash. Hint, title, text and landing page must tell the same story (lesson 2 of this module).
How to write them well
What gets matched is a conversation, not a two-word search: it comes with a situation, a question and often a constraint. We recommend this structure:
- Who: the person or their situation ("owners of an older flat").
- What they need: the question or the buying moment ("want to swap the bath for a walk-in shower").
- What holds them back: time, money or experience ("without weeks of building work").
- One or two sentences, in your customer's words, not your catalogue's.
| Business | ❌ Weak | ✅ Better | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running shop | trail shoes | Runners preparing for their first mountain race who aren't sure which shoe can handle rocky ground | From bare keyword to situation and doubt |
| Home renovation | renovations, bathrooms, kitchens, painting | Owners of an older flat who want to swap the bath for a walk-in shower without weeks of building work | One intent, not a catalogue |
| Holiday cottage | The best cottage in the Lake District | Families looking for a weekend away with young children within two hours of Manchester | About the customer, not about you |
| Mattresses | People who can't sleep because of anxiety | Couples replacing their mattress who can't decide between pocket springs and memory foam | Avoids a sensitive topic |
A bare keyword isn't forbidden (OpenAI mentions keywords too), but it describes little of a conversation. And you don't need to fill all 2,000: Ads Manager suggested four for us.
⚠️ Pitfall: describing conversations about personal health, mental health or politics. Ads don't appear near those topics, so such a hint aims at empty space. Write it from the buying need, not the problem.
One ad group per intent
Reports go down to ad group and ad, with breakdowns by product, country, device or platform. There is no report by hint, nor of the conversations your ad appeared in. Put "replacing the bath", "redoing the kitchen" and "painting the flat" in one group and you'll never know which one brings in customers.
The rule: one ad group per intent, with a matching ad and landing page. The ad group is your unit of measurement.
Suggested hints and API edits
Ads Manager can suggest hints: it created a "Recommended ad group" for us with 4 hints already written, along the lines of "Google Ads professionals in Spain looking to automate campaigns and save time". Use them as a starting point and a mirror: if they don't resemble what you sell, check how you present your brand and offer, in the account and on your website.
⚠️ Pitfall: when you update hints through the API, the list you send replaces the previous one: send only the new hint and you wipe the rest. Read the list, add to it and send it complete.
Where to find hints backed by evidence
Take them from real data, not from a meeting:
- Search terms that already convert in your Google Ads: proven intent. Group them by intent and turn each cluster into a situation: "walk in shower no building work cost" becomes "owners who want to replace their bath with a walk-in shower without building work and want to know the cost".
- Search Console. The queries you already appear for in Google, especially questions ("how", "how much"), reveal what your audience is unsure about.
- Your customers' questions. Emails, calls, chat, reviews: what people ask before buying already comes in their own words.
💡 Ninja trick: start with the intents that convert best in your Google Ads, one per ad group. The test starts from evidence, and you'll have something to compare it with: the same intent in Google Ads.
How to measure which hints work
You measure by ad group:
- Compare CTR, average CPC and conversions across groups.
- Give each ad its own UTM and follow each group in your analytics.
- Change one thing at a time and note the date; touch hints and ad together and you won't know what worked (lesson 7).
- Be patient: conversions take at least a day to appear and spend data arrives late (lesson 5).
If a group stands out, don't mix in another intent: open another and compare.
What to remember
- Hints guide matching: they aren't exact match, don't guarantee delivery and don't replace targeting.
- In the EEA and Switzerland, with no personalisation or custom audiences yet, the conversation and what you declare carry the weight: keep hint, ad and landing page aligned.
- Write them as situations: who, what they need, what holds them back.
- One ad group per intent: there is no report by hint.
- Through the API, the list is replaced in full.
- Source them from evidence: converting search terms, Search Console and real questions.