Stepful ads in ChatGPT
In our capture of logged-out ChatGPT, 36 ads from Stepful appeared on screen (all text ads), in 8 distinct ad copies across 2 industries and 9 topics. Each one appeared after our follow-up message asking for a sponsored ad.
- ads shown
- 36
- distinct ad copies
- 8
- industries
- 2
- topics
- 9
Logged-out ChatGPT from US connections, Oct 3–4, 2026. Each ad came after our follow-up message asking for a sponsored ad, so the counts show where Stepful advertised, not how often ChatGPT shows its ads.
Stepful ad copies, most shown first
Each distinct ad copy in our capture, most shown first: the headline of a text ad, or the product and price of a shopping ad. Under each, up to five questions asked in conversations where it appeared, as we asked them; in every one, the ad appeared after our follow-up message asking for a sponsored ad.
8 ad copies
- StepfulSponsored
CCMA Certification
Text ad · shown 18 times
Questions it appeared after
- “best community college certificate programs online”Online Community College · Oct 3, 11:18 pm ET
- “i'm a recently laid off tech recruiter in austin, which austin community college certificate could help me pivot quickly?”Online Community College · Oct 3, 11:20 pm ET
- “i'm 43 and a retail store manager in columbus, which career change program could get me into a better paying field within a year?”Career Change Programs · Oct 3, 11:45 pm ET
- “are there free certification exam vouchers for adults in workforce programs”Free Courses & Scholarships · Oct 4, 2:25 am ET
+14 more conversations with this ad copy
- StepfulSponsored
5-Month CCMA Prep
Text ad · shown 6 times
Questions it appeared after
- “how much does a community college certificate program cost compared to a private career school”Online Community College · Oct 3, 11:07 pm ET
- “i'm 38 and a stay at home mom in utah ready to work, would plumbing training fit with a part time schedule?”Plumbing Training · Oct 3, 11:27 pm ET
- “is a career change program worth it if it doesn't guarantee placement afterward”Career Change Programs · Oct 4, 12:07 am ET
+3 more conversations with this ad copy
- StepfulSponsored
Does Your Employer Pay for School?
Text ad · shown 4 times
Questions it appeared after
- “are there employer sponsored training programs that pay you to learn a new career”Career Change Programs · Oct 4, 12:54 am ET
- “does my employer tuition assistance cover tutoring costs for my degree program”Online College Tutoring · Oct 4, 1:32 am ET
+2 more conversations with this ad copy
- StepfulSponsored
Amazon May Cover Your Tuition
Text ad · shown 3 times
Our export holds no question text for these conversations.
- StepfulSponsored
Medical Assistant Certification
Text ad · shown 2 times
Our export holds no question text for these conversations.
- StepfulSponsored
Live CCMA Classes
Text ad · shown 1 time
Questions it appeared after
- “alternatives to masterclass for someone who wants live interaction with instructors”Online Course Platforms · Oct 3, 9:30 pm ET
- StepfulSponsored
CCMA Training, Live Classes
Text ad · shown 1 time
Our export holds no question text for this conversation.
- StepfulSponsored
CCMA in 5 Months
Text ad · shown 1 time
Questions it appeared after
- “how do i choose a tutor for exam prep when most profiles focus on casual conversation”Online Language Tutors · Oct 4, 1:13 am ET
Where Stepful ads appeared
The industries and topics of the conversations where its ads appeared, by ads shown. Topics are our own labels for the questions we wrote.
Industries
Topics
Brands in the same topics
Other advertisers whose ads appeared in conversations on the topics where Stepful’s did, ranked by how much those topics overlap. Each tile opens its page.
18 brands
Coursera1,187 ads shown7 shared topics
Walden University193 ads shown6 shared topics
Strayer University102 ads shown6 shared topics
Purdue Global73 ads shown5 shared topics
snhu.edu97 ads shown6 shared topics
internships.com72 ads shown5 shared topics
Sophia Learning38 ads shown6 shared topics
Purdue Global54 ads shown6 shared topics
Capella University42 ads shown5 shared topics
Resume.io330 ads shown5 shared topics
Eastern Connecticut State University47 ads shown5 shared topics
nasm.org14 ads shown3 shared topics
ISSA21 ads shown4 shared topicsEE Stanford Graduate School of Business123 ads shown4 shared topics
efaq.com120 ads shown2 shared topics
JobAssist74 ads shown4 shared topics
gcu.edu28 ads shown4 shared topics
JobCopilot77 ads shown1 shared topicHow this data was captured
What we ran, what counts as a shown ad, and what these numbers cannot tell you.
We used logged-out ChatGPT from US internet connections and started a new conversation for every question. Message 1 was the question. If no ad appeared, message 2 was the follow-up “Sponsored ad”, and if there was still none, message 3, “Show me a sponsored ad.”, was a last try. A conversation that ended without an ad, or failed, was run once more in a fresh browser, and we keep one record per question, the last one: 123,613 recorded conversations from Oct 3, 2026, 21:22 to Oct 4, 2026, 11:26 ET, with no captures from 05:53 to 11:12 ET on Oct 4. Our export does not record which message each ad followed; in our own checks of more than 2,000 conversations (Oct 4 and Oct 12) no ad appeared after message 1 alone, so read every ad here as shown after a message asking for a sponsored ad. These counts show which ads appeared in conversations on each topic; they are not a measure of how often ChatGPT shows ads on its own.
Only ads drawn on screen count as shown. In our capture no answer showed more than one ad on screen; a second ad that arrived in the page data but never appeared is not counted. Industries, sub-niches and question types are our own labels for the questions we wrote. Independent; not affiliated with OpenAI. Full methodWhy this is not an ad rateWhat the ads looked like
Explore the library
All 20 industries, the most shown topics and the guides, one link each.
How does your brand show up in ChatGPT and AI search?
We look at the answers and ads shown for your category and where your brand appears in them.