ChatGPT Ads Hint at Premium CPMs as AI Overviews Cut Clicks

B2B media is walking into a new reality: your next “top of funnel” impression may happen inside an answer engine, not on a webpage. And when the experience is the destination, the economics change fast—pricing, measurement, and even whether you get the click at all.

Two fresh signals matter right now for anyone running paid media or responsible for pipeline: early details suggesting ChatGPT ads could come with premium CPMs, and new reporting that Google AI Overviews may send less traffic—with an opt-out option being discussed. That combination is the clearest “pay more, get fewer clicks” warning we’ve had in a while.

The news/development: premium pricing in ChatGPT, fewer clicks from AI Overviews

**1) ChatGPT ads: early details point to premium CPMs.**

Search Engine Journal’s PPC Pulse highlighted early details around ChatGPT advertising, explicitly framing it as premium-priced inventory. As the recap puts it: **“This week's PPC Pulse recaps early details on ChatGPT’s premium ad pricing.”** (Search Engine Journal)

That’s not a small wording choice. “Premium ad pricing” and “CPMs” signals a world where you’re buying access to attention in a high-intent environment—likely at a cost that feels more like top-shelf digital video or high-value native placements than commodity display.

**2) Google AI Overviews: reported to send less traffic, with an opt-out mentioned.**

Search Engine Roundtable reported on the traffic impact and the control conversation around Google AI Overviews with a direct headline: **“AI Overviews To Send Less Traffic, Opt Out Of It.”** (Search Engine Roundtable)

The two key points you can safely take from that report are:

• AI Overviews are **reported to send less traffic**.
• There is **mention of an opt-out option**.

Taken together, these updates reinforce a single directional shift: answer engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Copilot, Perplexity, Brave, Meta AI) are becoming places where users get what they need without leaving—and paid opportunities inside those environments may be priced accordingly.

Analysis: what this means for B2B marketers and media buyers

1) Expect “answer inventory” to price like a premium channel

If the early framing around ChatGPT ads is “premium ad pricing” tied to CPMs (Search Engine Journal), you should plan for the unit economics of this inventory to look different than what you’re used to in search or standard social.

In practical terms, that changes how you justify spend:

• You may need to defend higher CPMs with **incremental lift** rather than cheap clicks.
• You’ll likely need creative that earns attention in an environment built to answer questions—not to browse.

2) Your organic playbook has to assume fewer clicks from Google

If AI Overviews are “to send less traffic” (Search Engine Roundtable), the old model—rank, win the click, convert on-site—gets squeezed.

For B2B, that can show up as:

• More “dark” influence where prospects learn from summaries and never hit your site.
• More pressure on brand recall and authority, because the click is no longer guaranteed.

3) “Opt-out” talk is a signal that control and distribution are in flux

Search Engine Roundtable’s mention of an opt-out option matters because it tells you the market is actively negotiating what participation looks like.

Even without assuming the specifics of how opt-out works, the strategic implication is clear: **distribution in answer engines isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it channel.** It’s evolving, and you need a monitoring cadence and a point of view on when visibility is worth potential traffic tradeoffs.

Action items: what to do right now

1) Treat ChatGPT ad testing like premium inventory testing

Because the reporting explicitly points to premium CPMs (Search Engine Journal), don’t evaluate ChatGPT ads using “cheap click” expectations.

What to do:

• Define a tight test hypothesis (e.g., category demand capture vs. competitor conquest vs. mid-funnel education).
• Decide upfront what success means if click volume is not the primary outcome (e.g., qualified conversations started, branded search lift, downstream pipeline influence).

2) Build an “answer-first” content plan for AI Overviews-era search

If AI Overviews are reported to send less traffic (Search Engine Roundtable), your content must win in the answer layer.

What to do:

• Identify the handful of questions that drive your best leads (pricing, comparisons, implementation, integrations, security, ROI).
• Write pages and assets that are structured to be quotable and summarizable—clear definitions, direct answers, and scannable proof points.

3) Establish an AI visibility + traffic watchlist

Because the report flags both lower traffic and an opt-out conversation (Search Engine Roundtable), you need governance, not guesswork.

What to do:

• Track your priority topics weekly: where you appear, whether the answer engine is summarizing you, and what happens to traffic when an overview is present.
• Create an internal decision framework for participation if opt-out controls become relevant to your business (e.g., visibility value vs. click loss tolerance).

4) Update stakeholder expectations now

Premium CPMs in ChatGPT ads (Search Engine Journal) plus less traffic from AI Overviews (Search Engine Roundtable) can create a perception that “marketing got more expensive and less measurable.” Don’t let that narrative take hold.

What to do:

• Reframe success around influence and qualified demand, not just sessions.
• Communicate that answer engines change where the conversion happens—often before the website visit.

Bottom line

ChatGPT ads are already being described in terms of premium CPM pricing (Search Engine Journal), while Google AI Overviews are reported to send less traffic and may include an opt-out option (Search Engine Roundtable). You should plan for higher-cost attention inside answer engines and build an answer-first strategy that doesn’t depend on the click.