OpenAI has officially begun testing advertisements inside ChatGPT, just days after the idea of ad-supported AI was mocked in a high-profile Super Bowl commercial by rival Anthropic.
After years of thinking, the ad test is currently limited to the United States and applies only to logged-in adult users on Free ChatGPT accounts, as well as OpenAI’s new ad-supported Go tier. Users paying for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Edu subscriptions will not see ads.
Why Ads Are Coming to ChatGPT?
The move reflects growing financial pressure on OpenAI. Despite its popularity, the company is reportedly not expected to reach positive cash flow until around 2030, after raising more than $60 billion from investors.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently defended the company’s direction after Anthropic criticized advertising in AI tools. Altman argued that subscription-only models limit access, positioning ads as a way to make AI available to billions of people who cannot afford paid plans.
Other major players are exploring similar ideas. Google is also expected to introduce ads into its Gemini AI services later this year, though the broader effectiveness of advertising in AI products remains unproven.
How ChatGPT Ads Work?
OpenAI says ads will appear after ChatGPT responses, clearly labeled and visually separated from AI-generated content. The company stresses that ads do not influence answers and that responses remain optimized for usefulness, not sponsorship.
Ads are selected by matching topics discussed in conversations with relevant marketing messages. For example, users researching recipes might see ads for grocery delivery services or meal kits.
Other factors may also be used, including general location, language, and previous ad interactions.
OpenAI Privacy and Personalization Concerns
By default, ad personalization is enabled for eligible users. When turned on, OpenAI says recent and current conversations may be used to help choose ads. If ChatGPT’s memory feature is active, saved memories and recent chats can also influence ad selection.
OpenAI claims it does not share chats, chat history, memories, names, email addresses, precise location data, IP addresses, or sensitive information such as health or political topics with advertisers.
Users can disable ad personalization, which limits targeting to the current conversation only, excluding past chats.
Where ChatGPT Ads Will Not Appear?
OpenAI has placed several restrictions on where ads can show up. Ads will not appear in temporary chats, when users are logged out, after image generation, or inside the ChatGPT Atlas browser. Ads are also excluded from conversations involving sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health, or politics.
Advertisers themselves face limits as well, with ads related to dating, health services, financial products, or political content currently prohibited.
A Cautious Experiment
OpenAI describes the rollout as a learning phase, emphasizing that its advertising program will evolve over time. That caveat has raised concerns among users familiar with how once-minimal ads on other platforms gradually expanded into heavier commercial experiences.
For now, OpenAI is attempting a careful balance: generating revenue while maintaining trust in a product many users rely on daily.
Whether ChatGPT can integrate ads without damaging its reputation remains an open question, but the era of ad-free AI for everyone is clearly coming to an end.
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