diff --git a/.github/workflows/cmake_install.yml b/.github/workflows/cmake_install.yml
index c62d7def82..0406db5292 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cmake_install.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cmake_install.yml
@@ -254,6 +254,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           sudo -E ./ci/setup_cmake.sh
           conan install install/conan/conanfile_stable.txt --build=missing -of /home/runner/conan -s build_type=${BUILD_TYPE} -s compiler.cppstd=${CXX_STANDARD}
+          conan cache clean --source --build
       - name: Run Tests (static libs)
         env:
           BUILD_SHARED_LIBS: 'OFF'
@@ -297,6 +298,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           sudo -E ./ci/setup_cmake.sh
           conan install install/conan/conanfile_latest.txt --build=missing -of /home/runner/conan -s build_type=${BUILD_TYPE} -s compiler.cppstd=${CXX_STANDARD}
+          conan cache clean --source --build
       - name: Run Tests (static libs)
         env:
           BUILD_SHARED_LIBS: 'OFF'
@@ -330,7 +332,9 @@ jobs:
         ./ci/setup_cmake_macos.sh
         conan profile detect --force
     - name: Install or build all dependencies with Conan
-      run: conan install install/conan/conanfile_stable.txt --build=missing -of /Users/runner/conan -s build_type=${BUILD_TYPE} -s compiler.cppstd=${CXX_STANDARD}
+      run: |
+        conan install install/conan/conanfile_stable.txt --build=missing -of /Users/runner/conan -s build_type=${BUILD_TYPE} -s compiler.cppstd=${CXX_STANDARD}
+        conan cache clean --source --build
     - name: Run Tests (static libs)
       env:
         BUILD_SHARED_LIBS: 'OFF'
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 30c94679ed..765038b362 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ Increment the:
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+* [TEST] Test examples in CI with CMake Part 1
+  [#3449](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-cpp/pull/3449)
+
 ## [1.21 2025-05-28]
 
 * [BUILD] Remove WITH_ABSEIL
diff --git a/ci/do_ci.ps1 b/ci/do_ci.ps1
index 87aa73b6fa..a5d3b2044f 100644
--- a/ci/do_ci.ps1
+++ b/ci/do_ci.ps1
@@ -77,23 +77,8 @@ switch ($action) {
     if ($exit -ne 0) {
       exit $exit
     }
-    ctest -C Debug
-    $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
-    if ($exit -ne 0) {
-      exit $exit
-    }
     $env:PATH = "$BUILD_DIR\ext\src\dll\Debug;$env:PATH"
-    examples\simple\Debug\example_simple.exe
-    $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
-    if ($exit -ne 0) {
-      exit $exit
-    }
-    examples\metrics_simple\Debug\metrics_ostream_example.exe
-    $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
-    if ($exit -ne 0) {
-      exit $exit
-    }
-    examples\logs_simple\Debug\example_logs_simple.exe
+    ctest -C Debug
     $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
     if ($exit -ne 0) {
       exit $exit
@@ -115,23 +100,8 @@ switch ($action) {
     if ($exit -ne 0) {
       exit $exit
     }
-    ctest -C Debug
-    $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
-    if ($exit -ne 0) {
-      exit $exit
-    }
     $env:PATH = "$BUILD_DIR\ext\src\dll\Debug;$env:PATH"
-    examples\simple\Debug\example_simple.exe
-    $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
-    if ($exit -ne 0) {
-      exit $exit
-    }
-    examples\metrics_simple\Debug\metrics_ostream_example.exe
-    $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
-    if ($exit -ne 0) {
-      exit $exit
-    }
-    examples\logs_simple\Debug\example_logs_simple.exe
+    ctest -C Debug
     $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
     if ($exit -ne 0) {
       exit $exit
@@ -277,6 +247,7 @@ switch ($action) {
     if ($exit -ne 0) {
       exit $exit
     }
+    $env:PATH = "$BUILD_DIR\ext\src\dll\Debug;$env:PATH"
     ctest -C Debug
     $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
     if ($exit -ne 0) {
@@ -467,13 +438,13 @@ switch ($action) {
     $CMAKE_OPTIONS = @(
     "-DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17",
     "-DVCPKG_TARGET_TRIPLET=x64-windows",
-    "-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$VCPKG_DIR/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake"
+    "-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$VCPKG_DIR/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake",
+    "-DOPENTELEMETRY_BUILD_DLL=1"
     )
 
     cmake $SRC_DIR `
       $CMAKE_OPTIONS `
       "-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$INSTALL_TEST_DIR" `
-      -DOPENTELEMETRY_BUILD_DLL=1 `
       -DWITH_ABI_VERSION_1=ON `
       -DWITH_ABI_VERSION_2=OFF `
       -DWITH_THREAD_INSTRUMENTATION_PREVIEW=ON `
diff --git a/examples/batch/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/batch/CMakeLists.txt
index 2d88df76bf..765244d14e 100644
--- a/examples/batch/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/batch/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,3 +5,8 @@ add_executable(batch_span_processor_example main.cc)
 target_link_libraries(
   batch_span_processor_example PRIVATE opentelemetry-cpp::ostream_span_exporter
                                        opentelemetry-cpp::trace)
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  add_test(NAME examples.batch
+           COMMAND "$<TARGET_FILE:batch_span_processor_example>")
+endif()
diff --git a/examples/common/foo_library/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/common/foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
index 58cb179f81..6577866753 100644
--- a/examples/common/foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/common/foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@
 
 add_library(common_foo_library foo_library.h foo_library.cc)
 
-set_target_version(common_foo_library)
-
 if(DEFINED OPENTELEMETRY_BUILD_DLL)
   target_compile_definitions(common_foo_library
                              PRIVATE OPENTELEMETRY_BUILD_IMPORT_DLL)
diff --git a/examples/common/logs_foo_library/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/common/logs_foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
index af6207ca96..b1173098fd 100644
--- a/examples/common/logs_foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/common/logs_foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@
 
 add_library(common_logs_foo_library foo_library.h foo_library.cc)
 
-set_target_version(common_logs_foo_library)
-
 if(DEFINED OPENTELEMETRY_BUILD_DLL)
   target_compile_definitions(common_logs_foo_library
                              PRIVATE OPENTELEMETRY_BUILD_IMPORT_DLL)
diff --git a/examples/common/metrics_foo_library/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/common/metrics_foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
index 64a4b53aca..54f034afa1 100644
--- a/examples/common/metrics_foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/common/metrics_foo_library/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@
 
 add_library(common_metrics_foo_library foo_library.h foo_library.cc)
 
-set_target_version(common_metrics_foo_library)
-
 if(DEFINED OPENTELEMETRY_BUILD_DLL)
   target_compile_definitions(common_metrics_foo_library
                              PRIVATE OPENTELEMETRY_BUILD_IMPORT_DLL)
diff --git a/examples/etw_threads/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/etw_threads/CMakeLists.txt
index bcc88350e9..e4eaeecd28 100644
--- a/examples/etw_threads/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/etw_threads/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -8,3 +8,7 @@ add_executable(etw_threadpool main.cc)
 target_link_libraries(
   etw_threadpool PRIVATE Threads::Threads opentelemetry-cpp::api
                          opentelemetry-cpp::etw_exporter)
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  add_test(NAME examples.etw_threads COMMAND "$<TARGET_FILE:etw_threadpool>")
+endif()
diff --git a/examples/grpc/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/grpc/CMakeLists.txt
index 20d35f3c51..4f87bc3b89 100644
--- a/examples/grpc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/grpc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -12,19 +12,35 @@ set(example_proto_hdrs "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/messages.pb.h")
 set(example_grpc_srcs "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/messages.grpc.pb.cc")
 set(example_grpc_hdrs "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/messages.grpc.pb.h")
 
+if(NOT TARGET gRPC::grpc_cpp_plugin)
+  message(
+    FATAL_ERROR
+      "gRPC::grpc_cpp_plugin target not found. Please ensure that gRPC is installed and found with find_package."
+  )
+endif()
+
+if(NOT DEFINED PROTOBUF_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE)
+  if(NOT TARGET protobuf::protoc)
+    message(
+      FATAL_ERROR
+        "protobuf::protoc target not found. Please ensure that Protobuf is installed and found with find_package."
+    )
+  endif()
+  set(PROTOBUF_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE protobuf::protoc)
+endif()
+
 add_custom_command(
   OUTPUT "${example_proto_srcs}" "${example_proto_hdrs}" "${example_grpc_srcs}"
          "${example_grpc_hdrs}"
   COMMAND
     ${PROTOBUF_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE} ARGS "--grpc_out=${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}"
     "--cpp_out=${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}" "--proto_path=${proto_file_path}"
-    "--plugin=protoc-gen-grpc=${gRPC_CPP_PLUGIN_EXECUTABLE}" "${proto_file}")
+    "--plugin=protoc-gen-grpc=$<TARGET_FILE:gRPC::grpc_cpp_plugin>"
+    "${proto_file}")
 
 add_library(example_grpc_proto ${example_grpc_srcs} ${example_grpc_hdrs}
                                ${example_proto_srcs} ${example_proto_hdrs})
 
-patch_protobuf_targets(example_grpc_proto)
-
 # Disable include-what-you-use on generated code.
 set_target_properties(example_grpc_proto PROPERTIES CXX_INCLUDE_WHAT_YOU_USE "")
 
@@ -45,5 +61,4 @@ foreach(_target client server)
   target_link_libraries(
     ${_target} PRIVATE example_grpc_proto
                        opentelemetry-cpp::ostream_span_exporter)
-  patch_protobuf_targets(${_target})
 endforeach()
diff --git a/examples/grpc/client.cc b/examples/grpc/client.cc
index ab11d86045..085fd2eb53 100644
--- a/examples/grpc/client.cc
+++ b/examples/grpc/client.cc
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
   uint16_t port;
   if (argc > 1)
   {
-    port = atoi(argv[1]);
+    port = static_cast<uint16_t>(atoi(argv[1]));
   }
   else
   {
diff --git a/examples/grpc/server.cc b/examples/grpc/server.cc
index 1c23b27a0d..c87db8f1b2 100644
--- a/examples/grpc/server.cc
+++ b/examples/grpc/server.cc
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
   uint16_t port;
   if (argc > 1)
   {
-    port = atoi(argv[1]);
+    port = static_cast<uint16_t>(atoi(argv[1]));
   }
   else
   {
diff --git a/examples/logs_simple/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/logs_simple/CMakeLists.txt
index 91d45e0bf9..f0923d6bfc 100644
--- a/examples/logs_simple/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/logs_simple/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,3 +16,8 @@ else()
             opentelemetry-cpp::ostream_span_exporter
             opentelemetry-cpp::ostream_log_record_exporter)
 endif()
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  add_test(NAME examples.logs_simple
+           COMMAND "$<TARGET_FILE:example_logs_simple>")
+endif()
diff --git a/examples/metrics_simple/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/metrics_simple/CMakeLists.txt
index 4b649c199d..29fa8cd4bc 100644
--- a/examples/metrics_simple/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/metrics_simple/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,3 +16,11 @@ else()
     metrics_ostream_example PRIVATE opentelemetry-cpp::metrics
                                     opentelemetry-cpp::ostream_metrics_exporter)
 endif()
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  add_test(NAME examples.metrics_simple
+           COMMAND "$<TARGET_FILE:metrics_ostream_example>")
+  # Disable the metrics_simple example test due to sporadic segfaults on Windows
+  # See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-cpp/issues/3458
+  set_tests_properties(examples.metrics_simple PROPERTIES DISABLED TRUE)
+endif()
diff --git a/examples/multi_processor/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/multi_processor/CMakeLists.txt
index 537f64abad..7120ec636f 100644
--- a/examples/multi_processor/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/multi_processor/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -7,3 +7,8 @@ target_link_libraries(
   PRIVATE common_foo_library opentelemetry-cpp::trace
           opentelemetry-cpp::ostream_span_exporter
           opentelemetry-cpp::in_memory_span_exporter)
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  add_test(NAME examples.multi_processor
+           COMMAND "$<TARGET_FILE:example_multi_processor>")
+endif()
diff --git a/examples/multithreaded/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/multithreaded/CMakeLists.txt
index 08615756e1..b05a36a3ad 100644
--- a/examples/multithreaded/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/multithreaded/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,3 +5,8 @@ add_executable(example_multithreaded main.cc)
 target_link_libraries(
   example_multithreaded PRIVATE opentelemetry-cpp::trace
                                 opentelemetry-cpp::ostream_span_exporter)
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  add_test(NAME examples.multithreaded
+           COMMAND "$<TARGET_FILE:example_multithreaded>")
+endif()
diff --git a/examples/otlp/grpc_metric_main.cc b/examples/otlp/grpc_metric_main.cc
index 761eabd4f1..d710cf8350 100644
--- a/examples/otlp/grpc_metric_main.cc
+++ b/examples/otlp/grpc_metric_main.cc
@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
 // Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-#include "grpcpp/grpcpp.h"
-#include "opentelemetry/exporters/otlp/otlp_grpc_exporter.h"
-
 #include "opentelemetry/exporters/otlp/otlp_grpc_metric_exporter_factory.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/metrics/provider.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/metrics/aggregation/default_aggregation.h"
@@ -18,6 +15,7 @@
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/metrics/view/meter_selector_factory.h"
 #include "opentelemetry/sdk/metrics/view/view_factory.h"
 
+#include <iostream>
 #include <memory>
 #include <thread>
 
diff --git a/examples/plugin/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/plugin/CMakeLists.txt
index 5dfc79963c..ef0c25aeca 100644
--- a/examples/plugin/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/plugin/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,3 +6,12 @@ add_subdirectory(load)
 if(NOT OPENTELEMETRY_SKIP_DYNAMIC_LOADING_TESTS)
   add_subdirectory(plugin)
 endif()
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  file(WRITE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/load/empty_config.txt" "")
+  add_test(
+    NAME examples.plugin
+    COMMAND
+      "$<TARGET_FILE:load_plugin_example>" "$<TARGET_FILE:example_plugin>"
+      "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/load/empty_config.txt")
+endif()
diff --git a/examples/simple/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/simple/CMakeLists.txt
index b7eefef8a9..cd784febd7 100644
--- a/examples/simple/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/simple/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,3 +14,7 @@ else()
     example_simple PRIVATE opentelemetry-cpp::trace
                            opentelemetry-cpp::ostream_span_exporter)
 endif()
+
+if(BUILD_TESTING)
+  add_test(NAME examples.simple COMMAND "$<TARGET_FILE:example_simple>")
+endif()
diff --git a/ext/src/dll/CMakeLists.txt b/ext/src/dll/CMakeLists.txt
index d5c273c83a..628a03abeb 100644
--- a/ext/src/dll/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/ext/src/dll/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,8 +16,9 @@ set_target_properties(opentelemetry_cpp PROPERTIES EXPORT_NAME
                                                    opentelemetry_cpp)
 
 target_link_libraries(
-  opentelemetry_cpp PRIVATE opentelemetry_trace
-                            opentelemetry_exporter_ostream_span)
+  opentelemetry_cpp
+  PUBLIC opentelemetry_api
+  PRIVATE opentelemetry_trace opentelemetry_exporter_ostream_span)
 
 target_include_directories(
   opentelemetry_cpp
diff --git a/install/test/cmake/CMakeLists.txt b/install/test/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
index fc6227894e..b12720e141 100644
--- a/install/test/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/install/test/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -139,3 +139,25 @@ foreach(component ${INSTALL_TEST_COMPONENTS})
     NAME component-${component}-run-test
     COMMAND ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/build-${component}-test/${component}_test)
 endforeach()
+
+set(OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_EXAMPLES_SRC_DIR "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/../../../examples")
+
+# Configure the examples with the installed package
+add_test(
+  NAME examples-config-test
+  COMMAND
+    ${CMAKE_COMMAND} --log-level=DEBUG -S ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/examples_test -B
+    examples-test "-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=${CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH}"
+    ${INSTALL_TEST_CMAKE_OPTIONS}
+    "-DOPENTELEMETRY_CPP_EXAMPLES_SRC_DIR=${OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_EXAMPLES_SRC_DIR}"
+)
+
+# Build the examples with the installed package
+add_test(NAME examples-build-test
+         COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} --build ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/examples-test
+                 --parallel)
+
+# Run the examples
+add_test(NAME examples-run-test
+         COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E chdir ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/examples-test
+                 ${CMAKE_CTEST_COMMAND} --output-on-failure -C $<CONFIG>)
diff --git a/install/test/cmake/examples_test/CMakeLists.txt b/install/test/cmake/examples_test/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3b94e295a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install/test/cmake/examples_test/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.14)
+
+project(opentelemetry-cpp-examples-test LANGUAGES CXX)
+
+if(NOT DEFINED OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_EXAMPLES_SRC_DIR)
+  message(
+    FATAL_ERROR
+      "OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_SRC_DIR must be defined when running cmake on this test project"
+  )
+endif()
+
+find_package(GTest CONFIG REQUIRED)
+find_package(opentelemetry-cpp CONFIG REQUIRED)
+
+if(NOT OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED)
+  message(
+    FATAL_ERROR
+      "OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED must be set when running cmake on this test project"
+  )
+endif()
+
+if("exporters_otlp_file" IN_LIST OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED)
+  set(WITH_OTLP_FILE ON)
+endif()
+
+if("exporters_otlp_grpc" IN_LIST OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED)
+  set(WITH_OTLP_GRPC ON)
+endif()
+
+if("exporters_otlp_http" IN_LIST OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED)
+  set(WITH_OTLP_HTTP ON)
+endif()
+
+if("exporters_prometheus" IN_LIST OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED)
+  set(WITH_PROMETHEUS ON)
+endif()
+
+if("exporters_zipkin" IN_LIST OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED)
+  set(WITH_ZIPKIN ON)
+endif()
+
+if("exporters_etw" IN_LIST OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED)
+  set(WITH_ETW ON)
+endif()
+
+if("ext_http_curl" IN_LIST OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_COMPONENTS_INSTALLED)
+  set(WITH_EXAMPLES_HTTP ON)
+endif()
+
+set(BUILD_TESTING ON)
+
+include(CTest)
+include(GoogleTest)
+
+add_subdirectory(${OPENTELEMETRY_CPP_EXAMPLES_SRC_DIR}
+                 ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/examples)