Advertising inside an AI chat
Advertising inside an AI chat means buying a labelled unit in the conversation itself - while the assistant works, beside its answer, as a suggested next step, or at a moment in a coding task - rather than a banner on a page. VibeFree sells nine such placements across its own apps, from £1.99 per 1,000 verified views. Campaigns run on the web app, the VS Code extension and the mobile app today, and can be bought for the Windows desktop app now - those impressions start when each one launches.
Every placement a campaign can buy
| Placement | When it appears | Formats | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loader | In the slot the person watches while a reply is being written | Text, image, tip card, progress skin, video, carousel, poll, quiz, promo code, embed, playable | Web, VS Code, Android |
| End of response | Beside the finished reply, held there while it is read | Text, image, option card, video, carousel, poll, quiz, lead-gen, promo code, embed, brand agent | Web, VS Code, Android |
| Follow-up chips | Under the reply, next to the suggested next steps, labelled Sponsored | Follow-up chip; sponsored install on coding agents | Chips on every app; installs in VS Code |
| Post-task moment | When an agent turn has finished a task | Post-task action | VS Code |
| Error moment | After a build, test, type check, lint, install, command or deploy fails | Error-moment action, targeted on the kind of error only | VS Code |
| New chat | On the empty chat before the first message | New-chat hero, or the day's takeover | Web, Android (takeover also owns the first loader, VS Code included) |
| Templates | On the new-design and new-project pickers | Sponsored template or starter kit | VibeDesign on web and Android; Code in VS Code |
| Earn page | On the VibeBucks earn page, which people visit to take part | Rewarded video and playable, learn-and-earn quiz, questionnaire, AI interview, verified trial, API-call offer, daily streak, offer | Web, Android; VS Code links out to the web |
| Newsletter | One slot in the VibeFree newsletter | Sponsored email slot | Email, to people who opted in to marketing email |
The two text units are the entry point: £1.99 per 1,000 verified views on the loader and £12.99 at the end of a response. The format and specs page has every format's fields, file specs and pricing model.
What is not for sale
The answer. The model writes the reply, and no campaign can put a product inside it, weight it, or have the assistant recommend anything. Every unit is drawn separately, labelled Sponsored, with a "Why this ad?" menu that shows exactly which targeting matched. A sponsored chip or template uses only the prompt that was reviewed and frozen at approval, and only when the person picks it - a template puts it in the message box to read and edit first.
How an ad is chosen
- One auction for every slot. VibeFree's own campaigns and, where the person has consented, external ad networks bid together, and the unit expected to be worth most is shown. Uncertain predictions are discounted, so a new campaign's guess cannot beat a known price.
- You pay your own bid. First price: what you bid is what a billed event costs.
- Contextual targeting reads labels, not text. Each new message is classified into a few labels - the task (building, debugging, deploying), the languages and frameworks named, what the project needs (auth, a database, payments) and its stage. Campaigns can require labels, exclude them, or let similarity to their own description raise their relevance. Relevance changes ranking only, never the price. How contextual targeting works.
- Standard targeting covers country and region, language, operating system, editor, app version, chat mode, time of day, new or returning accounts, frequency caps, pacing and competitor separation.
- Personalised audiences only with consent. Retargeting, lookalikes and a developer profile reach only people who switched on personalised ads; a customer list can only exclude people.
When no ad appears
- A crisis. A message that reads as self-harm, abuse or an emergency, and the next few, run untargeted: no contextual targeting, no sensitive-tier campaign, no ad network.
- Sensitive topics. A message about the writer's own health, sexuality, religion, politics, money worries, addiction or legal trouble is never used to target: once the classifier recognises it, ads beside it run untargeted, without sensitive business categories, and without asking any external network. The check is automatic and finishes while the reply is being written, so the ad shown while it loads can be chosen without it - ads and your chat sets out where it can fall short.
- Agents acting on their own. Sponsored chips and code templates are never offered to an agent on auto-approve, or to a turn sent from Remote Control - see sponsored installs and follow-up chips.
- Objections. Anyone can switch off contextual ads in their settings; from then on their messages are not labelled for ads, and contextually targeted campaigns no longer reach them.
Why an in-conversation unit is not a banner
- First-party, not a slot. VibeFree draws each unit itself and hosts every image, video and bundle. There is no ad-network iframe or advertiser pixel to load - and in the VS Code extension there is no browser for a blocker to run in at all.
- The conversation stays with the reader. Advertisers never receive messages or labels. Reporting is totals only, with any segment under 50 views folded into "Other".
- Paid by verified views. A CPM block is 1,000 showings that were actually on screen - at least half the unit for at least a second - not 1,000 requests.
What it costs to try
One block - 1,000 verified views of the text loader unit, £1.99 - bought by card, with no contract and no sales call. The developer ad networks that publish a rate charge $3.10 to $8.00 per 1,000 impressions, behind minimums that start at $1,000; the full price comparison lays the figures side by side, ChatGPT, Copilot and Google's AI ads are compared separately, and how buying works covers the steps from draft to live.
Frequently asked questions
Can you advertise inside an AI assistant?
On VibeFree, yes. A campaign can buy the loading slot while the assistant works, a card beside the finished answer, a sponsored follow-up chip, a moment in a coding task, the new-chat screen, the earn page or the newsletter - across Web app, VS Code extension, Mobile app and Windows desktop app. The cheapest unit starts at £1.99 per 1,000 verified views.
Does the AI mention my product in its answer?
No. The reply is written by the model and nothing in it is for sale. An ad is always a separate unit, labelled Sponsored, drawn beside the answer or in its own slot - paying more never changes a word of what the assistant says.
Does VibeFree read the conversation to choose my ad?
It reads labels, not text. Each new message is classified into a few topic labels - what the person is doing, the stack, what the project needs - and those labels decide which contextual campaigns are relevant. The message itself is not kept for ads, and advertisers only ever see totals per label, from 50 views up.
What does an ad in an AI chat cost?
The text units start at £1.99 per 1,000 verified views on the loading slot and £12.99 per 1,000 at the end of a response. Other formats are priced per click, per engagement, per completed view or per completion, each with its own minimum shown when you build the ad group. One block is the whole minimum.
Are there conversations where ads are held back?
Yes. A message that reads as a crisis, and the next few, get only untargeted first-party ads: no sensitive B2B category and no ad network. Messages on sensitive personal topics are never used to target ads. Sponsored chips are never offered to an agent running on auto-approve or to a turn sent from Remote Control.
Start a campaign from £1.99, and see how the advertiser dashboard works on the same page.
Related pages
- Contextual ad targeting - The label taxonomy, Smart targeting, negatives and the simulator.
- Conversion tracking with postbacks - Signed postbacks, webhooks, the CPA hybrid and the anomaly pause.
- The conversational brand agent - A side chat answered from your reviewed docs, billed per first message.
- Or browse every VibeFree guide.