· 3 min read
Creative enhancements: what OpenAI now changes automatically in your ads, and how to switch it off
Since 30 October 2026 there is a new default for self-serve campaigns in ChatGPT Ads: creative enhancements are on. OpenAI may rewrite your headlines and descriptions, translate the copy, adjust images and redirect the destination URL to a different page of your website, without you seeing every variant in advance. If you don't want that, you have to switch it off yourself. This article explains what the feature does, when it helps, when it hurts and how the account and campaign settings interact.
What may change
OpenAI describes four kinds of changes. None of them needs your approval, and Ads Manager does not show every variant that serves.
Four things OpenAI may change automatically
| Part of your ad | What can happen |
|---|---|
| Headline and description | New or rewritten text that connects your offer to the conversation |
| Language | Translation of your ad copy into another language |
| Image | Resizing to fit the ad format |
| Destination URL | Redirect to a different page of your website judged more relevant |
Inputs: the context of the conversation, the person's interests, your existing ad and the content of your landing page.
Variants run without approval; there is no preview of every variant.
The destination-URL part is the one many overlook. If you point an ad at a campaign landing page, you don't expect a click to land on the category page or a blog article instead. For the algorithm that is a relevance optimisation; for your tracking it can mean the click arrives on a page without a pixel.
When the automation helps
- Multilingual markets: if you advertise in Switzerland or Belgium, you get ad copy in the language of the conversation without maintaining three ads.
- Broad ranges: a generic ad for “running shoes” can sound different in a conversation about cushioning than in one about trail running.
- Quick tests: the insights show whether a campaign with enhancements gets more clicks per impression than one without.
When you should switch it off
- Legally reviewed copy: financial products, health, insurance, anything with mandatory disclosures. A rephrased sentence can turn an approved statement into an inadmissible one.
- Price and discount claims: “from €49” or “30% until Sunday” must not be paraphrased.
- Brand voice and claims: if your agency spent weeks on a wording, it shouldn't be re-created per conversation.
- Specific landing pages: when the click must land exactly on the page with the offer and the conversion pixel.
- Clean measurement: for an A/B test of two ad texts both variants have to run unchanged.
Account default or campaign setting?
You'll find the opt-out in the OpenAI Ads Manager under “Manage settings”. The setting exists on two levels: an account default and a setting per campaign. The rule is simple, but it surprises many.
Which setting wins
Account: on
- Campaign: not setEnhancements on
- Campaign: onEnhancements on
- Campaign: offEnhancements off
Account: off
- Campaign: not setEnhancements off
- Campaign: onEnhancements on
- Campaign: offEnhancements off
| Account default / campaign | Campaign: not set | Campaign: on | Campaign: off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account: on | Enhancements on | Enhancements on | Enhancements off |
| Account: off | Enhancements off | Enhancements on | Enhancements off |
A campaign setting always beats the account default. Only a campaign without its own setting follows the account.
That means: switching the account to “off” does not switch off campaigns that are explicitly set to “on”. And leaving the account on “on” lets you exempt individual campaigns with mandatory disclosures. Existing opt-outs set before 30 October were preserved by OpenAI.
Three things that can't be undone
- Variants that already served can't be recalled. Switching off only affects the future.
- There is no preview of every variant. Ads Manager won't tell you what a specific person actually saw.
- The landing page is part of the input. Outdated text on your website can show up in an ad variant.
Checklist if you leave enhancements on
- Tidy your landing pages: whatever is on the page may end up in an ad.
- Pixel on every page that could become a redirect target, not just the campaign page. How tracking is set up is explained in Shopify conversion tracking; the principle applies to any website.
- Compare insights before and after 30 October: CTR, conversion rate and CPA. A jump in either direction is a signal, not a glitch.
- Watch rejections: review still runs against the policies. What rejection reasons mean is in Ad rejected?.
And in Chatvertise?
The setting itself currently exists only in the OpenAI Ads Manager. The Advertiser API already exposes two fields that look like this setting, one on the account and one on the campaign; they are undocumented. We'll show the status in Chatvertise as soon as we have verified against the real account that these fields represent exactly that. Until then our rule from every update applies: no guessing, only verified things get built. What else OpenAI changed in October is summarised in the late-October update.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the default also apply to campaigns that ran before 30 October?
- Yes. OpenAI enabled the feature for new and existing self-serve campaigns. Only accounts and campaigns with an opt-out set beforehand stay off.
- Can I use enhancements for translations only, but not for rewrites?
- No. There is a single toggle that switches all four kinds of changes on or off together.
- Will I see in the history when OpenAI served a variant?
- No. The ad account's change log shows changes to campaigns, ad groups and ads made by people and tools. Automatically generated variants don't appear there.