June has been a blast. My oldest son played organized baseball for the first time this month! Watching him step into the batter’s box for those first few at-bats was nerve-wracking, but he took to it instantly and did incredibly well. There’s nothing quite like seeing your kid connect with a pitch and round first base with a huge grin on his face.

In the office, I’ve been stepping into a new “batter’s box” of my own: testing ChatGPT Ads for a few of my auto dealerships.

Testing ChatGPT Ads on the Dealership Level

When OpenAI opened up self-serve campaign options, I immediately wanted to see how conversational ad units would perform for local automotive tier-3 strategy.

• How it started: Slow. Early on, volume was light and learning how conversational intent matches compared to traditional Google Search keywords took some tweaking.
• How it’s going: It’s gaining real momentum. Unlike Google (where you bid on short phrases like “Toyota Camry dealer near me”), ChatGPT ads trigger off conversational prompts like “What’s a reliable 3-row SUV under $40k for a family of five?”
• The result: Once we dialed in prompt intent maps and landing pages, the shopper traffic coming through from ChatGPT was far deeper in the buying funnel. CPCs are staying remarkably efficient compared to saturated Search channels.

The Bigger Search Picture in June:

Outside of paid conversational AI, June brought some eye-opening industry metrics:

• The “Great Decoupling”: Data released this month shows that up to 80% of citations in LLMs come from pages that DON’T rank in Google’s traditional Top 100. AI models don’t care about domain authority as much as they care about clean, verifiable data.
• The 30% Rule in RAG: Studies on how AI parses content show that over 44% of AI citations are pulled from the first 30% of a webpage.

The Takeaway: Whether it’s stepping up to the plate in Little League or launching campaigns on ChatGPT Ads, success comes down to timing and solid fundamentals. Lead with your best offer right away.