ChatGPT Is Getting Ads—Here's What to Expect

What changed Altman's mind? Probably money. Or rather, the lack of it.

In the coming weeks, we plan to start testing ads in ChatGPT free and Go tiers.

We’re sharing our principles early on how we’ll approach ads–guided by putting user trust and transparency first as we work to make AI accessible to everyone.

So, ads it is.

OpenAI published five "ad principles": ads must be beneficial, they won't influence ChatGPT's answers, conversations stay private from advertisers, you can turn off personalization, and user experience is supposed to be prioritized.

Whether those promises hold depends on execution. Advertising at scale has historically succeeded, with Google and Meta as clear examples—both of which built precise targeting systems by collecting enormous amounts of user data.

For now, the first ads will be basic product placements below responses. OpenAI said it will be "extremely respectful" of user data and refine the format based on feedback. The test starts in the U.S. for adult users in the coming weeks. Whether it's enough to close a $74 billion hole remains to be seen.