AdPlug
Guide · Microsoft Ads to ChatGPT

How to Connect Microsoft Ads to ChatGPT

Connecting ChatGPT to Microsoft Ads (the old Bing Ads) gives it a controlled way to read your Microsoft Advertising data and, on plans that allow it, make changes you approve. This guide covers which ChatGPT plans can do what, the five setup steps with screenshots, and the first prompts worth running.

Updated 2026-10-03 · 6 minute read

Microsoft Ads MCP server URL

Paste this into ChatGPT as the MCP Server URL when you create the app in Developer mode.

https://api.adplug.app/mcp/microsoft-ads
Sign up freeSee setup steps →Example prompts →

01

Two ways to connect, and who each is for

One thing to keep apart first: this guide is about managing your own Microsoft Advertising account from ChatGPT. It has nothing to do with ads shown inside ChatGPT.

Microsoft's own MCP server

Microsoft runs a Microsoft Advertising MCP server. In June 2026 Microsoft described it as an open pilot with read-only access. Its setup guide has you install the Azure CLI, register your own Entra ID app, and add ChatGPT's callback address to it. Free, and fine for reporting if someone on the team is happy in a terminal.

A hosted MCP connector (this guide)

AdPlug's Microsoft Ads MCP covers reporting, search terms, LinkedIn profile targeting, keyword research, Google Ads imports, and campaign changes you preview first. You sign in with Microsoft and paste one address into ChatGPT. The same connection also works in Claude, Cursor, and Grok.

02

Which ChatGPT plans can do this

Custom MCP servers are added through ChatGPT's Developer mode. OpenAI's Developer mode guide lists it as available to Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise, and Education accounts, on the web only, and describes it as full MCP support for read and write tools, with write actions asking for your confirmation by default.

OpenAI's help centre is more cautious. Its MCP apps article says write actions are for Business, Enterprise, and Edu, and that Pro accounts connect custom servers with read and fetch tools. The two pages do not agree, so on Plus and Pro treat reporting as the safe expectation and test one small change before you rely on more.

No Developer mode on your plan?

The same AdPlug connection works in Claude, and Claude's Free plan allows one custom connector, per Anthropic's custom connector guide. The Microsoft Ads to Claude guide covers that setup in five steps.

Open the Microsoft Ads to Claude guide →

03

Setup in 5 steps

From a new AdPlug account to ChatGPT answering questions about your Microsoft Ads data takes about five minutes. There's no Azure app or developer token to set up.

  1. Create your AdPlug account

    Go to adplug.app/signup, sign in with Google or email, and follow the short onboarding. It ends on your AdPlug dashboard.

    AdPlug Create your account screen with a Continue with Google button and name, email and password fields.
    AdPlug sign-up. One click with Google, or an email and password.

  2. Connect Microsoft Ads to AdPlug

    On the dashboard, click Connect Microsoft Ads (or open the Connections page). AdPlug takes you through Microsoft's own sign-in; use the Microsoft account that opens ads.microsoft.com for you, work or personal, and approve the permissions Microsoft lists. Every ad account that sign-in can reach becomes available to ChatGPT through the one connection.

    AdPlug Ad Platform Connections page with an arrow pointing to the Connect Microsoft Ads button on the Microsoft Ads card.
    Click Connect Microsoft Ads to start Microsoft's sign-in.

    Seeing Need admin approval?

    Your organisation has switched off app consent for its users. Ask your IT admin to approve AdPlug in Microsoft Entra, or sign in with the account that owns the ads.

  3. Turn on Developer mode in ChatGPT

    In ChatGPT on the web, open Settings. Developer mode sits in one of two places, depending on which layout your account has: Apps → Advanced settings (shown below), or Security and login on the newer layout, where Apps has become Plugins. Switch it on. The Elevated risk label belongs to Developer mode itself: it lets you add connectors OpenAI has not verified. The toggle's own note also says Memory is disabled while it is on.

    ChatGPT Settings on the Apps tab, listing enabled apps, with an arrow pointing to the Advanced settings row and its Create app button.
    ChatGPT Settings, Apps tab. On this layout, Advanced settings is where Developer mode lives.
    ChatGPT Advanced settings with the Developer mode toggle switched on, highlighted, and labelled Elevated risk.
    Developer mode switched on.

    If your menus look different

    OpenAI is moving Apps to Plugins and the labels are changing with it. Its Developer mode guide has the current ones.

  4. Add AdPlug to ChatGPT

    Go back to Settings → Apps and click Create app. On the newer layout, open Plugins and use the plus button. Either way, fill in:

    • Name: AdPlug - Microsoft Ads
    • MCP Server URL: the address below
    • Authentication: leave as OAuth
    • Tick I understand and want to continue, then click Create

    On Business, Enterprise, and Edu workspaces the form also has a Scan Tools button. Click it, approve the AdPlug sign-in when it opens, and let the scan finish before you click Create.

    https://api.adplug.app/mcp/microsoft-ads
    ChatGPT New App dialog showing the Name, Description, MCP Server URL and Authentication fields, with the I understand and want to continue box ticked.
    The New App form, captured with a Google Ads example. Use the Microsoft Ads name above, and put the address in MCP Server URL (in this capture it was typed into Description).

    ChatGPT then opens AdPlug's sign-in. Use the same email as your AdPlug account and click Approve.

    AdPlug Authorize access screen asking whether an application may access your AdPlug account, with Deny and Approve buttons.
    AdPlug's authorise screen. Approve to let ChatGPT use your AdPlug connection.

    The app now appears under Enabled apps with a Dev label. If you would rather copy than type, your AdPlug dashboard shows the same name and address with copy buttons.

    ChatGPT card on the AdPlug dashboard showing the server name AdPlug - Microsoft Ads and the MCP URL https://api.adplug.app/mcp/microsoft-ads, each with a Copy button, above three setup steps.
    The ChatGPT card on your AdPlug dashboard, with Microsoft Ads only selected.

  5. Test the connection

    Start a new chat, open the + menu in the composer, and select the AdPlug app (on some accounts it sits under Developer mode in that menu). Then ask:

    “List my Microsoft Ads accounts.”

    ChatGPT calls the microsoft_ads_list_accounts tool and returns the ad accounts your Microsoft sign-in can reach, with currencies and statuses. If your accounts are listed, the connection works end to end.

    ChatGPT answering 'List my Microsoft Ads accounts' with the AdPlug - Microsoft Ads app selected, showing each account's name, ID, currency and status.
    ChatGPT's reply to the test prompt, with the AdPlug app selected in the composer.

04

What you can ask ChatGPT

These work as soon as the account is connected. More copy-paste prompts, including a full Microsoft Ads audit, live in the prompt playbooks.

List your Microsoft Ads accounts

“List my Microsoft Ads accounts.”

Weekly movers

“Compare my Microsoft Ads campaigns for the last 7 days against the previous 7. Flag the biggest spend and CPA movers, and tell me where I'm losing impression share to budget versus rank.”

Search-term waste

“Pull the search query report for the last 30 days, list the terms that spent money without converting, and suggest negatives with the right match type. Preview them, don't add them yet.”

Who saw the ads

“Which companies, industries, and job functions saw and clicked my Microsoft Ads in the last 30 days? Use the LinkedIn profile data.”

Partner-site cleanup

“Which search partner and Audience Network sites spent money without a conversion last month? Prep them as website exclusions and preview first.”

Keyword research

“Find keyword ideas for project management software in Microsoft's keyword planner, with monthly volume and suggested bids, grouped by theme.”

05

How changes work

AdPlug gives ChatGPT two tools for campaign changes. A preview tool returns the exact change (the campaign, the field, the new value) without applying it. An execute tool applies it. Ask for the preview first. ChatGPT treats the execute tool as a write action and asks you to confirm before running it.

ChatGPT also has a permission setting for connected apps, with options such as Always ask, Allow read actions, and Allow low-risk actions. For an ad account, keep it on Always ask or Allow read actions, so every change waits for you.

New campaigns, ad groups, and ads start paused, so nothing spends until you switch it on. The free plan is view only; creating and editing campaigns needs a paid AdPlug plan. Report calls and executed changes are recorded in your AdPlug Usage and Audit Log.

06

Troubleshooting

Click any item to expand the answer.

I cannot find Developer mode
It is a web-only setting, under Settings → Apps → Advanced settings (or Settings → Security and login on the newer layout). OpenAI lists it for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu. On Business workspaces only admins and owners can switch it on; on Enterprise and Edu an admin grants access first. OpenAI's Developer mode guide has the current list.
Microsoft shows Need admin approval
Your organisation has switched off app consent for its users. Ask your IT admin to approve AdPlug in Microsoft Entra, or sign in with the Microsoft account that owns the ads.
The connection shows zero Microsoft Ads accounts
Microsoft has two kinds of sign-in, personal and work or school, and the picker remembers whichever you used last. Open ads.microsoft.com and check which account shows your ads, then disconnect and reconnect on the Connections page with that one.
ChatGPT does not use AdPlug in a chat
Apps are selected per message. Open the + menu in the composer and pick the AdPlug app again, or name it in the prompt: “Use AdPlug to list my Microsoft Ads accounts.”
ChatGPT reads my data but will not run a change
Check two things. AdPlug's free plan can read but not edit. And OpenAI's help centre says write actions through custom MCP apps are for Business, Enterprise, and Edu, so a Plus or Pro account may be limited to reading. The same AdPlug account makes changes from Claude.
The numbers do not match Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft can take a few hours to settle reporting data, and conversions can arrive later still. For exact reconciliation, ask for a date range ending yesterday and treat today's spend as provisional.

07

Questions people ask

Can I connect ChatGPT to Microsoft Ads?
Yes. Microsoft runs its own Microsoft Advertising MCP server, which it described in June 2026 as an open pilot with read-only access, and its ChatGPT setup has you register your own Entra ID app and add ChatGPT's callback address to it. AdPlug is a hosted connector: you sign in with Microsoft, paste one address into ChatGPT, and get reporting plus campaign changes you preview first.
Is this about ads inside ChatGPT?
No. This guide connects ChatGPT to your own Microsoft Advertising account, so you can report on it and manage it in chat. It has nothing to do with buying ads that appear inside ChatGPT.
Which ChatGPT plans can add a custom MCP server?
OpenAI's developer documentation lists Developer mode as available to Pro, Plus, Business, Enterprise, and Education accounts on the web. It is not available in the mobile apps. On Business workspaces only admins and owners can turn it on, and on Enterprise and Edu an admin grants access first. OpenAI's two pages differ on write tools: the developer guide says Developer mode supports read and write, while the help centre article says write actions are for Business, Enterprise, and Edu.
Do I need a developer token or an Azure app?
No. AdPlug brings its own Microsoft Advertising API access, so there's no developer token to request and no Entra ID (Azure) app to register. You sign in with the Microsoft account you already use for Microsoft Advertising.
Can ChatGPT create and edit Microsoft Ads campaigns?
Yes, where your ChatGPT plan runs write tools. With a paid AdPlug plan that covers campaigns, ad groups, ads, keywords, negatives, budgets, bids, targeting, and Google Ads campaigns copied across. AdPlug's preview tool shows the exact change without applying it, ChatGPT asks for your confirmation before it runs the execute tool, and anything new starts paused.
Is connecting ChatGPT to Microsoft Ads free?
AdPlug's free plan is view only: one ad platform, unlimited ad accounts, 500 requests in the first month and 50 a month after that. Creating or editing campaigns needs a paid AdPlug plan. On the ChatGPT side you need a plan that includes Developer mode.
Does the same connector work in Claude, Cursor, or Grok?
Yes. https://api.adplug.app/mcp/microsoft-ads is a standard MCP server, so the same connection works in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Grok, and other MCP clients. https://api.adplug.app/mcp carries Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Microsoft Ads together for cross-channel questions.