Should you run ChatGPT ads yourself or use an agency?
An honest, balanced look at running ChatGPT Ads yourself versus using an agency for your care home — when DIY makes sense, the risks, and how to decide.
You can run ChatGPT Ads yourself or have an agency manage them.
DIY suits homes wanting to test cheaply and learn the platform; an agency suits those who want it optimised and off their plate. Here’s how to decide honestly.
When I walk care home owners through ChatGPT Ads, it always comes down to the same fork: be brave and have a go yourself, or grant agency access and let someone else run it.
Both are legitimate.
This is a genuinely balanced look at which fits you — including the bits of DIY that are more involved than they first appear.
Can you run ChatGPT Ads yourself?
Yes — the platform is built so an owner can set up a campaign. But “set up” and “kept profitable” are two different things, and there’s more to it than the original walkthrough suggested.
First check whether OpenAI will accept a care home at all.
Its ad policies generally prohibit ads for health services outside the US and do not name care homes, so test one advert before you decide who runs it.
Building the campaign is the approachable part: account, objective, budget, ad group, context hints, creative, billing.
The fiddly part comes after: verifying your business before the ad will serve, then setting up enquiry tracking (a pixel on your website, an event on your thank-you page, and testing it actually fires).
Doable yourself if you’re comfortable with a bit of website code; a job for your web developer if you’re not.
When does DIY make sense?
DIY makes sense when you want to test cheaply, learn the platform, and you’re willing to be the one watching the spend daily.
If you’ve got a small, capped budget, a bit of time, and genuine curiosity, having a go is a great way to understand the channel from the inside.
The honest caveat: DIY means you are the one checking it every day. There’s no one else watching whether the budget is being spent well — that responsibility is yours, and it’s the part people underestimate.
The real risk of “set and forget”
An unwatched campaign at £15 or more a day quietly burns money. That is about £456 a month, spending whether it is working or not.
And you pay by the click or view whichever objective you choose, so if your website and follow-up do not bring enquiries, the spend is simply lost.
Start small, cap it, set a calendar reminder to review it, and don’t scale until you can see what a click is worth to you.
What’s the risk of getting it wrong?
The main risk is wasted spend: a campaign left running unwatched, paying for clicks that never become enquiries.
It’s rarely a dramatic blow-up — it’s the quiet drip.
A bid set too low so nothing delivers; a budget left on autopilot; clicks arriving at a website that doesn’t turn them into enquiries. None of these announce themselves.
They just cost you money until someone notices. That “someone” is the crux of the DIY-versus-agency decision.
When should you use an agency?
Use an agency when you’d rather it be optimised and off your plate — when time, expertise, and avoiding wasted spend matter more than learning the platform yourself.
An agency earns its fee in three places: knowing care intent (so the context hints and copy actually speak to families and referrers), watching and adjusting the campaign so budget isn’t wasted, and handling the technical bits, such as verification and tracking, without it landing on your desk.
If your days are already full of running a home, that’s usually money well spent.
What does agency management involve?
You grant account access; the agency handles the build, context-hint strategy, verification, tracking setup, and ongoing optimisation.
Practically, you set up (or already have) the business account and grant access — you stay the owner, they become the manager.
From there they build the campaign, write and refine the context hints and creative, get your business verified, install and test the enquiry tracking, and then watch the numbers, adjusting bids and budgets so your spend works as hard as it can.
A simple decision checklist
Run through these five questions — if you answer “no” to most, an agency is probably the safer call.
Time: Can you check the campaign daily for the first fortnight, then regularly after?
Comfort with spend: Are you happy taking sole responsibility for watching a live ad budget?
Technical confidence: Can you add a tracking pixel and event to your website (or do you have a developer who can)?
Care intent: Are you confident writing context hints that genuinely speak to families and referrers?
Goal: Do you want to learn the platform, or simply get results without the admin?
Mostly “yes” — have a go, start small, keep it capped. Mostly “no” — get help, and spend your time where it counts, on the home itself.
Weighing up Google as well? Read should you run Google Ads yourself or hand them over (coming soon).
Barry Jobson, founder
25 years in brand, digital and marketing, six of them only in care. Barry writes the Quick Wins email every week and still answers the phone.
The questions people ask. Answered in a line or two.
Can I run ChatGPT Ads without an agency?
Yes. The platform is designed so an owner can build and launch a campaign themselves.
Just be ready to verify your business, set up enquiry tracking and watch the spend daily, because DIY means you’re the one keeping an eye on it.
How do I give an agency access to my ChatGPT Ads?
You set up (or keep) your own business account and grant the agency access to manage it. You remain the owner and keep control of billing; they handle the day-to-day build and optimisation.
Is it worth paying someone to manage ChatGPT Ads?
If you lack the time to watch it daily, aren’t comfortable with the tracking setup, or want to avoid wasted spend, yes.
A good agency can stop budget leaking and target families more accurately than a first-timer can.
