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  • 🔥 SEOs Diners Club #208: ChatGPT Ads, Google's Confusion, and New Developments in the AI World

🔥 SEOs Diners Club #208: ChatGPT Ads, Google's Confusion, and New Developments in the AI World

In this week's SEOs Diners Club, we're covering ChatGPT's new ad platform, Google's algorithm updates, the debate on the necessity of a website, and key developments in the world of AI.

Author

Mert Erkal
February 16, 2026

Hello folks,

I hope you're having a great week. The digital marketing world is restless as ever; it feels like we're living on the F5 key. Just when you think everything is on track, you find the rules of the game have been rewritten. This week, I've compiled the hottest developments for you, adding a bit of my own experience and foresight. If the coffees are ready, let's begin!

🚀 ChatGPT Ads Are Coming! Are We Ready?

And it happened! OpenAI officially announced it has started testing ads for its AI chatbot, ChatGPT. This development could be a turning point for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem. So, what does this new ad model promise, and what opportunities and threats does it present? Let's dig in.

According to OpenAI's statements, ads will initially be shown only to users in the free and low-cost "Go" ($8/month) tiers in the U.S. Those with paid subscriptions like Plus, Pro, and Enterprise will not see these ads. This strategy shows OpenAI's effort to cover its massive operational costs on one hand, and its desire to protect the paid user experience on the other. The company emphasizes that they prioritize user trust above all, that ads will not influence the model's answers, and that the privacy of conversations will not be shared with advertisers.

The leaked control panel images and official statements about how the ads will work signal a well-thought-out system. Ads will appear not within the chat interface, but below it, in a separate section clearly labeled as "sponsored." This is an approach reminiscent of Google's ad placement in search results, aiming not to mislead the user. Most importantly, users will have full control over ad personalization. They can view their ad history, delete interest inferences, and, if they wish, turn off personalization completely. When personalization is off, ads will be shown based only on the current conversation's context. This is a significant assurance for privacy-conscious users.

Ad targeting will be based on conversation topics, past chats, and previous ad interactions. For example, a user chatting about recipes might see an ad for a grocery delivery service. OpenAI states that this model promises a future where small and medium-sized businesses can run campaigns by describing their goals in natural language, rather than dealing with complex ad panels. This could be an exciting step towards the democratization of advertising.

However, there's another side to the coin. The Super Bowl ads by rival AI company Anthropic, which mocked ChatGPT's ad model, also summarize the industry's skepticism. Ads, no matter how well-intentioned, always have the potential to negatively affect the AI's impartiality and the user experience. As technical SEO consultant Jono Alderson pointed out, when you create a second, machine-readable version of a page (like markdown), you are essentially creating a second candidate for reality. How will the system know which version is the truth? This also brings up "cloaking" concerns. SEO consultant David McSweeney warns that Cloudflare's new Markdown for Agents feature could create a "shadow web" by making it easier for sites to show different content to bots than to humans.

So, what should we do? This development is one of the clearest signs of how search and discovery behaviors are evolving. We now need to be present not just on Google, but also in AI chat interfaces, positioning our brand and products in the right context. This new platform has the potential to understand user intent much more deeply and to appear at the exact moment of need. At Stradiji, we are closely following these developments and already modeling new opportunities and strategies for our clients. Remember, change is inevitable. What matters is how quickly and intelligently we adapt to it.

⚙️ Algorithm & Search Engine Updates

  • On the Google front, the waters are still turbulent. On February 10th, we experienced another unconfirmed but quite impactful ranking volatility. The SEO community, so to speak, is on the verge of getting whiplash. This was a separate tremor from the official core update that started on February 5th, targeting only the Discover feed. Google's silence on the matter is something we've grown accustomed to. As Barry Schwartz noted, there are signs that these updates are particularly targeting self-serving listicles. This situation reminds us once again that we need to constantly review our content strategies.

  • In the midst of this chaos, a podcast from Google's own Search Relations team caused even more confusion. Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt debated whether we still need a website in 2026, and instead of giving a clear answer, they kept saying "it depends." Splitt even made a bold statement: "I'd rather have a beautifully curated social media presence that exudes trustworthiness than a poorly made website." This feels like an admission from Google itself that they no longer see the web as the single center, and that user journeys have become fragmented. Of course, this doesn't mean websites are dead. For data sovereignty, branding, and direct conversions, websites are still our strongest fortress. But we must not forget that the world around this fortress is changing, and we need to shape our strategies according to this new reality.

🤖 From the World of AI

💡 Actionable SEO Tip

In light of this week's developments, here are a few tips you can apply immediately:

  1. Audit Your JavaScript Content: If important content on your site is loaded later with JavaScript, ensure it is server-side rendered (SSR) or included statically in the HTML. Remember that Google prioritizes the content it sees in the basic HTML.

  2. Review Your Content Strategy: Instead of superficial listicles created just to "rank on Google," focus on in-depth, original content that solves real user problems. Google's latest updates tend to reward this type of content.

  3. Diversify Your Brand Presence: Don't rely solely on your website. Ensure your brand is represented consistently and reliably on relevant social media platforms, in communities, and soon, in AI interfaces like ChatGPT.

👋 Closing

The digital world continues to change at a dizzying pace. ChatGPT ads, special content formats for AI bots, Google's endless dance... All these developments present us with both new challenges and exciting opportunities. The important thing is not to lose our curiosity, to keep learning, and to experiment boldly.

If you want your brand to be one step ahead in this new world and want to prepare your SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) strategies for the future, don't hesitate to contact me through Stradiji.com. We can discuss what we can do for your brand over a coffee.

See you in the next notes, take care!

Mert Erkal

About Mert Erkal

Mert Erkal is an expert with 15+ years of experience in digital marketing and SEO. As the founder of Stradiji, he provides consulting services to corporate companies on SEO strategies, conversion rate optimization, and AI integration.

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