Cybersecurity Certifications ads in ChatGPT
Ads shown in ChatGPT conversations about Cybersecurity Certifications. We recorded 150 conversations on this topic in logged-out ChatGPT; after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed 142 ads from 28 advertisers. Most often shown: Coursera, ISSA and Cloudflare.
Our captureLogged-out ChatGPT, USOct 3–4, 2026
Advertisers shown in Cybersecurity Certifications conversations
top 25 of 28Ranked by how many of the conversations on this topic ended with their ad on screen; share of the 142 shown ads.
| # | Advertiser | Ads shown | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coursera | 92 | 64.8% |
| 2 | ISSA | 8 | 5.6% |
| 3 | Cloudflare | 5 | 3.5% |
| 4 | Elastic | 4 | 2.8% |
| 5 | cmdnctrlsecurity.com | 3 | 2.1% |
| 6 | ISC2 | 3 | 2.1% |
| 7 | Contabo | 2 | 1.4% |
| 8 | Dion Training Solutions | 2 | 1.4% |
| 9 | Sterling Next | 2 | 1.4% |
| 10 | Torq | 2 | 1.4% |
| 11 | Training Camp | 2 | 1.4% |
| 12 | Arctic Wolf | 1 | 0.7% |
| 13 | Champlain College | 1 | 0.7% |
| 14 | Crowdstrike | 1 | 0.7% |
| 15 | getastra.com | 1 | 0.7% |
| 16 | Groupon | 1 | 0.7% |
| 17 | internships.com | 1 | 0.7% |
| 18 | iQuasar | 1 | 0.7% |
| 19 | JobAssist | 1 | 0.7% |
| 20 | ManageEngine | 1 | 0.7% |
| 21 | Netwrix | 1 | 0.7% |
| 22 | OU Online | 1 | 0.7% |
| 23 | Purdue Global | 1 | 0.7% |
| 24 | RegScale | 1 | 0.7% |
| 25 | Strayer University | 1 | 0.7% |
3 more advertisers shared the other 3 shown ads.
Ad formats
| Format | Ads shown | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Text ad (advertiser name and headline) | 141 | 99.3% |
| Shopping ad (product name and price) | 1 | 0.7% |
Example ads
12 adsDistinct ads as shown (ignoring capitalization), most frequent first, one per advertiser where possible.
- CourseraText ad
Learn Cybersecurity
Shown 27 times
- ISSAText ad
Which ISSA Exam?
Shown 6 times
- ElasticText ad
Open by design, no black box
Shown 3 times
- cmdnctrlsecurity.comText ad
CMD+CTRL Security
Engage & Compete
Shown 3 times
- Sterling NextText ad
CompTIA Security+ Certification Training
Shown 2 times
- Training CampText ad
ISC2 CISSP Boot Camp
Shown 2 times
- ContaboText ad
VPS 4 – 8 GB, from $5.28/mo
Shown 2 times
- CloudflareText ad
100+ Threat Defense Sessions
Shown 2 times
- TorqText ad
2026 AI SOC Leadership Report
Shown 2 times
- ISC2Text ad
The Cybersecurity Standard That Lasts
Shown 2 times
- Dion Training SolutionsText ad
Ready for Security+?
Shown 2 times
- useadmesh.comText ad
AdMesh,Inc
See this ad ? You can do this too.
Shown 1 time
Example conversations
12 examplesChosen to cover different advertisers and question types. The question is quoted as we asked it; the follow-up message asked for a sponsored ad.
In a conversation that began “is the cissp worth it for someone in grc who doesn't do technical security work”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Coursera.
Text ad: “Certification Prep Online”
Worth it question · Oct 3, 23:21 ET
In a conversation that began “sans courses”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Sterling Next.
Text ad: “CompTIA Security+ Certification Training”
Short search question · Oct 3, 23:26 ET
In a conversation that began “is the oscp worth it for someone who wants blue team roles rather than penetration testing”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Elastic.
Text ad: “Open by design, no black box”
Worth it question · Oct 4, 01:21 ET
In a conversation that began “i'm 44, work in retail management in tulsa and want to break into cybersecurity, is a bootcamp or certifications the better route?”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from JobAssist.
Text ad: “JobAssist: 7M+ verified jobs daily”
Long scenario question · Oct 3, 23:25 ET
In a conversation that began “what's a realistic study schedule for oscp if i work full time and can only lab on weekends”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from ManageEngine.
Text ad: “Enterprise-Grade Vulnerability Scanner”
Fix or choose question · Oct 3, 23:55 ET
In a conversation that began “hack the box”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Contabo.
Text ad: “VPS 4 – 8 GB, from $5.28/mo”
Short search question · Oct 4, 00:49 ET
In a conversation that began “cissp vs cism for a security manager who wants to become a ciso within five years”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Torq.
Text ad: “2026 AI SOC Leadership Report”
Comparison question · Oct 4, 04:11 ET
In a conversation that began “sans vs offsec training”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from ISSA.
Text ad: “Which ISSA Exam?”
Comparison question · Oct 4, 02:03 ET
In a conversation that began “how do i decide between offensive security and defensive security when i'm just getting started”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Arctic Wolf.
Text ad: “Arctic Wolf”
Fix or choose question · Oct 4, 01:10 ET
In a conversation that began “is the google cybersecurity certificate worth it”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Cloudflare.
Text ad: “100+ Hands-On Security Labs”
Worth it question · Oct 4, 00:52 ET
In a conversation that began “is cism worth it”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from ISC2.
Text ad: “Ready for Your Next Cybersecurity Leadership Role?”
Worth it question · Oct 4, 01:51 ET
In a conversation that began “cisa vs cism for it audit”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Coursera.
Text ad: “Cert Exam Prep”
Comparison question · Oct 3, 23:18 ET
Question types
How the conversations on this topic were asked, and how many of the shown ads came from each kind.
| Question type | Ads shown | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | 30 | 21.1% |
| Comparison | 21 | 14.8% |
| Fix or choose | 22 | 15.5% |
| Price | 21 | 14.8% |
| Long scenario | 21 | 14.8% |
| Short search | 14 | 9.9% |
| Worth it | 13 | 9.2% |
More in Education & Careers
Other Education & Careers topics (ads shown):
How this data was captured
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
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