What the platforms say
- OpenAI: ads appear below the response, labelled as sponsored, run on separate systems and "do not influence ChatGPT's answers". Advertisers never see conversations.
- Perplexity: executives told the Financial Times that ads risk making users "suspicious of everything", and the company is winding its ad programme down by the end of 2026.
What that means for advertisers
- The answer is neutral; your ad isn't. Buyers know the difference, so the ad has to earn the click on its own merits.
- Specific beats loud. An ad that answers the exact question is read as help; a generic slogan is skipped.
- Your landing page carries the trust. If it contradicts the ad, the buyer leaves and the policy may stop the ad.
How to keep credibility
- Make one concrete promise you can prove.
- Send buyers to a page with facts: prices or ranges, integrations, company sizes served.
- Don't fake neutrality. A sponsored comparison should still be fair.
- Work on organic visibility too. Being named in the answer is the strongest trust signal there is.
What a trustworthy B2B ad looks like
| Element | Trust-building | Trust-eroding |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | Names a specific outcome | Superlatives: "the best", "#1" |
| Proof | A number on the landing page | A number nowhere else |
| Comparison | Fair, sourced | You win every row |
| Landing page | Continues the question | Generic homepage |
Questions
Do labelled ads perform worse?
There's no published B2B data yet. Labels set expectations; useful ads still get clicked.
Should we avoid ads to protect our brand?
Not if the ads are honest and useful. Combine them with organic visibility, so buyers see you in the answer too.
What did Perplexity's decision show?
That trust in answers is the platform's core asset. Expect platforms to keep ads clearly separate from answers.
What B2B buyers expect from sponsored content
B2B buyers are used to sponsored content in industry publications, at events and in search results. They don't reject it; they judge it. Sponsored material that teaches something, states facts clearly and links to evidence is read. Sponsored material that only claims superiority is skipped. AI ads sit inside that same judgement.
Trust compounds across channels
A buyer who sees you named in an AI answer, then sees your ad under a related question, then lands on a fair comparison page is likely to trust you more at each step. Consistency across organic, paid and your own site is what builds that.
Start here: AI ads for B2B. More articles in AI advertising strategy.
