Phone Trade-In ads in ChatGPT
Ads shown in ChatGPT conversations about Phone Trade-In. We recorded 149 conversations on this topic in logged-out ChatGPT; after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed 147 ads from 46 advertisers. Most often shown: ecoATM; AT&T Mobility; and Optimum.
Our captureLogged-out ChatGPT, USOct 3–4, 2026
Advertisers shown in Phone Trade-In conversations
top 25 of 46Ranked by how many of the conversations on this topic ended with their ad on screen; share of the 147 shown ads.
| # | Advertiser | Ads shown | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ecoATM | 21 | 14.3% |
| 2 | AT&T Mobility | 13 | 8.8% |
| 3 | Optimum | 11 | 7.5% |
| 4 | shopgarage.com | 10 | 6.8% |
| 5 | Visible by Verizon | 10 | 6.8% |
| 6 | Wisepal | 10 | 6.8% |
| 7 | wcell.com | 8 | 5.4% |
| 8 | CPR Cell Phone Repair | 6 | 4.1% |
| 9 | temu.com | 5 | 3.4% |
| 10 | MPB | 4 | 2.7% |
| 11 | Consumer Rating | 3 | 2.0% |
| 12 | PureTalk | 3 | 2.0% |
| 13 | quickshipelectronics | 3 | 2.0% |
| 14 | Tello Mobile | 3 | 2.0% |
| 15 | 2ndphoneclub.com | 2 | 1.4% |
| 16 | Penta Security | 2 | 1.4% |
| 17 | Shopify | 2 | 1.4% |
| 18 | U-List-It | 2 | 1.4% |
| 19 | United Flea Market | 2 | 1.4% |
| 20 | Aura Consolidated Group | 1 | 0.7% |
| 21 | B-Stock Solutions | 1 | 0.7% |
| 22 | Bitdefender | 1 | 0.7% |
| 23 | BitRaser® | 1 | 0.7% |
| 24 | Blunt Cases | 1 | 0.7% |
| 25 | Box | 1 | 0.7% |
21 more advertisers shared the other 21 shown ads.
Ad formats
| Format | Ads shown | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Text ad (advertiser name and headline) | 138 | 93.9% |
| Shopping ad (product name and price) | 9 | 6.1% |
Example ads
12 adsDistinct ads as shown (ignoring capitalization), most frequent first, one per advertiser where possible.
- ecoATMText ad
ecoATM: Get Cash
Shown 21 times
- WisepalText ad
Stop Overpaying On Your Cell Phone
Shown 10 times
- wcell.comText ad
Mannapov, LLC
WCell
Shown 8 times
- AT&T MobilityText ad
Recycle Your Phone for Deals
Shown 8 times
- OptimumText ad
Get up to $1,200 off iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max
Shown 7 times
- shopgarage.comText ad
Garage Technologies, Inc.
Free Instant Appraisal
Shown 6 times
- CPR Cell Phone RepairText ad
Need a Device Repair? Start Here
Shown 6 times
- Visible by VerizonText ad
Explore Visible deals
Shown 4 times
- MPBText ad
It's Time to Change Gear
Shown 4 times
- quickshipelectronicsText ad
Open-Box Tech Deals
Shown 3 times
- PureTalkText ad
PureTalk | Prepaid Wireless Carrier
Shown 2 times
- Penta SecurityText ad
The Last Line of Defense: Encryption
Shown 2 times
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 trading in my phone worth it”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from wcell.com.
Text ad: “WCell”
Worth it question · Oct 3, 23:30 ET
In a conversation that began “i want to trade in my samsung for an iphone at verizon, do they give the same credit for android phones?”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from temu.com.
Shopping ad: Samsung Galaxy S25+ | UNLOCKED | 256GB | Mint | Refurbished - · $591.19
Long scenario question · Oct 3, 23:07 ET
In a conversation that began “is the samsung trade in deal worth it if i'm not sure i'll stay with samsung”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from ecoATM.
Text ad: “ecoATM: Get Cash”
Worth it question · Oct 4, 03:26 ET
In a conversation that began “trade in value for cracked iphone”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Visible by Verizon.
Text ad: “Explore Visible deals”
Price question · Oct 4, 00:05 ET
In a conversation that began “how much is an old ipad pro worth if i trade it in at best buy”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from orangehardwares.com.
Shopping ad: AMM02TBCA Targus 2-in-1 Stylus for Tablets, iPad, iPhone, Smartphones and More Rubber Silver, Black (Refurbished) · $175.96
Price question · Oct 4, 01:41 ET
In a conversation that began “how do i sell my old phone on facebook marketplace without getting scammed”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Shopify.
Text ad: “Explore Reselling as a Business”
Fix or choose question · Oct 4, 04:29 ET
In a conversation that began “how to decide between trading in my phone now or waiting for a bigger promo”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Lyca Mobile USA.
Text ad: “A Data Plan That Matches How You Use Your Phone”
Fix or choose question · Oct 3, 23:27 ET
In a conversation that began “i'm 60 and nervous about selling my phone online, what's the simplest safe way to trade in my old iphone?”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Cloaked.
Text ad: “Your name, address, and phone are for sale.”
Long scenario question · Oct 3, 23:21 ET
In a conversation that began “t-mobile trade in”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from polarcredit.com.
Text ad: “The phone bill that builds credit”
Short search question · Oct 3, 23:11 ET
In a conversation that began “best place to trade in an iphone 15 pro max with a small crack in the back glass”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from Optimum.
Text ad: “Get up to $1,200 off iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max”
Best for question · Oct 4, 05:20 ET
In a conversation that began “is it better to trade in my iphone 14 at apple or sell it on swappa myself”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from U-List-It.
Text ad: “List. Sell. Ship.”
Comparison question · Oct 4, 02:03 ET
In a conversation that began “ecoatm vs gazelle for iphone”, after the follow-up message, ChatGPT showed an ad from unlockbase.com.
Text ad: “UNLOCK YOUR CELLPHONE FOR ANY CARRIER WORLDWIDE”
Comparison question · Oct 3, 23:14 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 | 29 | 19.7% |
| Price | 22 | 15.0% |
| Long scenario | 23 | 15.6% |
| Comparison | 22 | 15.0% |
| Fix or choose | 22 | 15.0% |
| Worth it | 15 | 10.2% |
| Short search | 14 | 9.5% |
More in Telecom & Internet
Other Telecom & Internet 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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