ChatGPT Advertising in Melbourne: A Practical Guide for Local Businesses
Schema markup for small businesses: the 5 types that matter in 2026
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Google Ads reaches people at the moment they search. ChatGPT ads reach people while they are talking a decision through. Google offers scale, data and a deep toolkit at a high price in a crowded auction. ChatGPT offers little data and one format, with almost no competition. Most Melbourne businesses should keep Google running and move a modest share of budget into ChatGPT now. The ChatGPT half of this comparison comes from an account we built ourselves.
The comparison in one table
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| Item | Google Ads | ChatGPT ads |
|---|---|---|
| User behaviour | Types a few words | Asks full questions and follows up |
| Matching | Keywords | Context hint per ad group |
| Formats | Search, Maps, Shopping, Display, YouTube, calls | One sponsored card |
| Location | City, radius, postcode | State or postcode. No Melbourne city option |
| Billing | Mainly per click | Per click or per impression |
| Budget | Daily | Daily or lifetime cap |
| Pre-launch data | Search volumes and bid estimates | None |
| Competition | Heavy | Light, close to none in Chinese |
| Maturity | Established | Beta |
The case for Google Ads
Intent is explicit. “Conveyancer Glen Waverley” tells you what the person wants. Those enquiries convert.
You can forecast. Search volumes and estimated click prices for Melbourne are available before you spend, so a budget conversation can be grounded in numbers.
The toolkit is complete. Call ads, Maps, remarketing, negative keywords and scheduling all exist and work.
Skills are easy to find. You are never locked in to one operator.
The case against Google Ads
Price. Clicks for Melbourne lawyers, brokers, removalists, locksmiths and cosmetic clinics commonly run to tens of dollars. A small daily budget buys a few clicks and never builds enough data to improve.
Limited Chinese-language volume. The same businesses have been bidding on the same small set of Chinese queries for years.
Some questions no longer start in search. When a decision needs comparing or explaining, more people open ChatGPT first. Google ads are absent from that conversation.
Pressure to automate. Accepting every recommendation and broad match suggestion is a reliable way to pay for irrelevant queries.
The case for ChatGPT ads
Open field. We saw almost no comparable ads when we launched, and none in Chinese.
Decision-stage timing. A typical prompt is “what does a kitchen renovation cost in Melbourne’s east, and should I use a builder or a project manager?” The card sits under that answer.
Quick to build. Four campaigns and eleven ads took us one day, and most were approved in about ten minutes.
Postcode targeting. A Box Hill clinic can advertise around 3128 and nowhere else.
A fixed ceiling. A lifetime cap ends delivery when it is reached.
The case against ChatGPT ads
No forecasting. No volumes and no benchmark prices exist.
Small reach. Ads do not appear in every conversation. This channel supplements others.
One format. No call ads, no map placement, no mature remarketing.
Review is sensitive and says little. A review management service, a category widely advertised on Google, was rejected here as “Scams and fraud: low-confidence scam” with no further detail.
Beta. Policies and reporting may change without much notice.
The answer itself is not for sale. Being named in the response is a matter for AEO.
One customer, two ads: a Melbourne example
Take a family in Doncaster planning a bathroom renovation. On Saturday morning one of them asks ChatGPT what a mid-range bathroom costs in Melbourne, what drives the price and what to ask a builder. The conversation runs for ten minutes. A sponsored card from a local renovator appears under one of the answers. They tap it, read the page and save the number.
On Tuesday the other partner searches “bathroom renovation Doncaster” on Google, sees four ads and the map pack, and recognises one name from the weekend. That is the one they call.
Neither ad did the job alone. The ChatGPT card arrived while the couple were still learning, when no competitor was present. The Google ad was there at the moment of action, in a crowded auction, at a much higher click price. If you only measure last click, Google gets all the credit and the ChatGPT spend looks wasted. Separate UTM tags and a simple “how did you first hear about us” question on the enquiry form fix that.
What to measure in a four-week ChatGPT test
Keep the test small and the questions specific.
- Approval rate. How many ads passed first time, and which wording failed. This tells you how much of your service can be advertised as you normally describe it.
- Impressions per postcode or state. If impressions are near zero after a week, the context hint is too narrow.
- Click-through rate by ad variant. Pause the weakest third after two weeks and write replacements.
- Cost per enquiry. Count form submissions, calls and chat leads from tagged URLs. Compare with your Google figure over the same four weeks.
- Enquiry quality. Ask whoever answers the phone. People who arrive after a long ChatGPT conversation often know more and ask better questions.
Four weeks is enough to decide whether to stop, hold or scale. It is not enough to declare a winner between platforms, because the volumes on the ChatGPT side are still small.
Budget splits for five situations
| Situation | What we would do |
|---|---|
| Google Ads already delivers steady enquiries | Keep it. Move 10 to 20 percent to ChatGPT for a four-week test. |
| Google clicks are too expensive | Cut Google back to the profitable terms. Test ChatGPT and invest in content. |
| Customers are mostly Chinese-speaking | Start with Chinese ChatGPT ads while the slots are empty. |
| Never advertised before | Fix the site and Google Business Profile, spend month one on Google Search, add ChatGPT in month two. |
| Site fails on mobile or lacks a form | Advertise on neither. Fix the site. |
The shared weak point is the landing page
Both platforms deliver the visitor to the same page. If it loads slowly, breaks on a phone or hides the contact details, both clicks are wasted.
We begin every ChatGPT ads engagement with a free website audit: mobile load time, first-screen contact options, consistency between ad and page, pixel readiness and review risks. The launch process is set out in our guide to ChatGPT advertising in Melbourne.
Email kan@melmel.com.au or call 0473 034 777 with your URL. Within two business days you will have a one-page list and our view on how to split the budget.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between ChatGPT ads and Google Ads?
Google matches ads to typed keywords. ChatGPT matches ads to conversations using a context hint you write for each ad group.
Which is cheaper?
Unknown for now. ChatGPT has less bid pressure but no published benchmarks and low volume. Compare cost per enquiry after running both.
Should I move my whole budget to ChatGPT ads?
No. Keep a Google campaign that works and test ChatGPT with 10 to 20 percent for four weeks.
Can ChatGPT ads replace Google Ads?
Not soon. Google covers Search, Maps, Shopping, video, remarketing and calls. ChatGPT has one card format.
Which suits businesses with Chinese-speaking customers?
ChatGPT is worth testing early. Many people ask in Chinese and very few advertisers run Chinese ads.
Can I track both platforms at the same time?
Yes. The Google tag and the OpenAI pixel run independently. Use separate UTM tags for each platform.
Is ChatGPT ad review stricter?
It was more sensitive for us. Review management ads were rejected twice as a possible scam and passed after the headline described the outcome instead.
Melmel — a Melbourne AI studio
We build and optimise websites so that Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can read them and quote them. Melbourne web design and development, AI SEO and AEO from $1,000 a month, and a $199 whole-site AI audit credited in full against your first month if you go ahead. English and Chinese.
AEO agency in Melbourne · ChatGPT optimisation · AI SEO in Melbourne · answer engine optimisation · bilingual web design
Call 0473 034 777 · email kan@melmel.com.au · our Melbourne services · Suite 704, 566 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004.
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