OpenAI to Test Ads in ChatGPT

OpenAI announced that it will begin displaying advertisements within ChatGPT to a segment of its user base in the United States, Reuters has reported. This initiative is part of an effort to increase revenue generation from the AI chatbot, which is intended to support the substantial costs associated with developing the technology.

The advertisements will be tested with users on the company’s free tier and the lower-priced Go plan, which is now being expanded globally. They are scheduled to appear in the coming weeks and will be distinct from the answers generated by ChatGPT.

Users subscribed to the Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise tiers will not see advertisements. OpenAI stated that advertising will not influence ChatGPT’s outputs and that user conversations will not be shared with marketers.

This development represents a shift for the company, which has previously relied on subscription revenue. It reflects the need for OpenAI to increase revenue as it incurs significant expenditures on data centers and prepares for an anticipated initial public offering.

The company, which is not currently profitable, plans to invest over $1 trillion in artificial intelligence infrastructure by 2030. Details on how this expenditure will be funded have not been provided.

Analysts noted that advertising could create a substantial revenue stream from ChatGPT’s 800 million weekly active users. However, the introduction of ads may dissatisfy some customers and potentially erode trust in the product.

If advertisements are perceived as intrusive or poorly executed, users could readily switch to alternative chatbots such as Google’s Gemini or Anthropic’s Claude. An analyst from Emarketer, Jeremy Goldman, added that this move could also compel competitors to define their own monetization strategies, particularly those that market themselves as inherently ad-free.

OpenAI stated it will not show advertisements to users under the age of 18. The company also intends to prevent ads from appearing in conversations related to sensitive topics, including health and politics.

The company explained in a statement, “We plan to test ads at the bottom of answers in ChatGPT when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.”

Advertisers are hopeful that AI will enhance performance in search and social advertising categories, as they seek to benefit from the integration of the technology into advertising recommendation systems.

The ChatGPT Go plan, first introduced in India, will be available in the United States for a monthly fee of $8.