OpenAI previews conversion optimisation, including ad views

What changed

Anu Adegbola's Search Engine Land report describes this as a planned optimisation option. It says the proposed model would use conversions after both ad clicks and views, with impression-based billing for campaigns using it. That future-tense announcement should not be confused with the behaviour documented for existing campaigns.

OpenAI's captured Conversions API documentation makes the current distinction explicit: eligible web accounts can report view-through conversions separately, using a one-day window, while the main Conversions total and existing optimisation remain click-through based. If a conversion qualifies for both, the click takes precedence. The documentation does not make the availability of a separate reporting metric proof that the proposed bidding model is already enabled.

Our suggested evaluation starts by separating three questions: which events are reported, which events influence delivery, and what activity is billed. A dashboard can answer the first without answering the other two. Before comparing an existing campaign with the proposed option, define a consistent business outcome and retain each model's attribution assumptions. Otherwise, a larger attributed conversion total could be mistaken for a larger number of additional customers when part of the change is simply which exposures receive credit.

Why it matters for advertisers

The possible shift matters because attribution and pricing would change together. A lower reported cost per conversion would need to be interpreted alongside spend, conversion quality and the selected attribution basis. Neither the announcement nor the documentation demonstrates incremental performance gains from the future model.