California, USA – OpenAI has begun rolling out advertising on ChatGPT. The company’s chief executive, Sam Altman, had previously criticised online advertising models. The move is aimed at generating revenue from the platform’s vast base of free users, most of whom currently do not pay for access to the service.
The company announced that advertisements will start appearing for some users in the United States from Monday. Ads will be shown to users on the free version of ChatGPT as well as those subscribed to ChatGPT Go, a recently introduced subscription plan priced at $8 per month. OpenAI says the change is designed to support wider access to the service while helping fund its rapidly growing infrastructure and development costs.
Okay News learnt that the ads will be tailored based on users’ interactions within ChatGPT itself, including current conversations, previous prompts, and how users respond to ads shown on the platform. OpenAI has stated that, for now, it will not rely on data from outside ChatGPT to personalise advertising, distancing its approach from traditional digital advertising platforms that track users across the internet.
The decision follows months of internal debate and public signalling by OpenAI that advertising was under consideration. It also comes amid rising scrutiny over trust and transparency in artificial intelligence tools, with critics warning that the presence of ads could raise concerns about whether commercial interests might influence AI-generated responses. Rival AI companies have previously highlighted these risks, arguing that ads could blur the line between neutral information and paid promotion.
ChatGPT now serves hundreds of millions of users worldwide, but only a small fraction pay for premium access. Introducing ads is expected to significantly expand OpenAI’s revenue base, though it also exposes the company to reputational risks if users perceive its answers as biased or commercially driven. How users and advertisers respond to the new model is likely to shape the future of advertising within AI-powered services and influence how similar platforms balance trust with profitability.
