ChatGPT ads need 25,000 matched users to target a list. A small B2B list can still exclude.

404 Media showed on October 15 that ChatGPT ads can target people by email or phone, but OpenAI needs 25,000 matches before a list can target anyone. 404 Media's October 15 newsletter found that an advertiser can upload a list and put ads in front of the ChatGPT users it matches. OpenAI's help page on custom audiences sets the floor. Inclusion targeting and bid changes need at least 25,000 matched users, and OpenAI recommends 100,000. Smaller audiences can be used for exclusions only.

For a small B2B team, that floor is the story. If your customer and prospect list runs to a few thousand emails, you can't aim ChatGPT ads at those accounts. You can still stop paying to show ads to people who already pay you. Set that up on day one.

The bigger lesson is where your list lives. A rented audience needs scale before it does anything. A signal, something a buyer just did, like coming back to your pricing page, needs no minimum and nobody else can buy it.

Build on the list that's already yours.