OpenAI is preparing to introduce advertising inside ChatGPT as it looks for new ways to fund the rapidly rising cost of building and running artificial intelligence systems.
The company said Friday it will begin testing ads in the free version of ChatGPT for logged in adult users in the United States. Advertisements will also appear for subscribers to a new $8 per month plan called “Go,” while users on Plus, Pro and business accounts will not see ads.
The move marks a significant shift for OpenAI, whose chief executive Sam Altman has long voiced discomfort with advertising. Still, the company faces mounting financial pressure as it seeks to monetize its massive audience of roughly 800 million monthly users while investing heavily in infrastructure. OpenAI has committed to spending an estimated $1.4 trillion on AI development over the next eight years and expects to reach about $20 billion in annual revenue by the end of 2025, Altman said last year.
As part of the test, ads will appear beneath ChatGPT’s responses and will be labeled as “sponsored.” OpenAI said advertisements will not influence how the system answers questions and stressed that trust remains central to the product.
“Users need to trust that ChatGPT’s responses are driven by what’s objectively useful,” the company said.
OpenAI added that it will not sell user conversations or personal data to advertisers. Users will be able to disable ad personalization tied to their chats, and ads will not appear in discussions involving regulated topics such as health, mental health or politics. The company also said it will not show ads to users under 18, using AI tools to estimate age based on usage patterns.
Advertising could unlock a major revenue stream for OpenAI, particularly because ChatGPT often captures user intent in real time. For example, someone asking for help planning a vacation could later see ads for hotels, travel services or local attractions. OpenAI said future ad formats may allow users to directly ask questions related to a promoted product.
“Given what AI can do, we’re excited to develop new experiences over time that people find more helpful and relevant than any other ads,” the company said. “Soon you might see an ad and be able to directly ask the questions you need to make a purchase decision.”
The ad rollout follows earlier efforts to turn ChatGPT into a broader commerce and lifestyle platform. Last year, OpenAI launched “Instant Checkout,” allowing users to buy products from retailers such as Walmart and Etsy without leaving the chatbot. The company has also added tools focused on health, learning and productivity to deepen daily use and encourage paid upgrades.
Even so, inserting ads into conversational AI carries risks. ChatGPT interactions can be personal, and critics warn that blending advertising with intimate conversations could feel intrusive. The change also raises stakes around product safety, especially after lawsuits accused the chatbot of contributing to user harm in prior cases.
Altman has acknowledged those concerns in the past. In a 2024 interview, he said he “hates” ads and described mixing them with AI as “uniquely unsettling,” though he stopped short of ruling them out. He later said any advertising would require careful design.
OpenAI’s move reflects a broader industry trend. In December, Meta began using data from interactions with its AI chatbot to deliver more personalized advertising, signaling that ads may become a common feature across AI driven platforms.
For OpenAI, the experiment represents a careful step into unfamiliar territory as it balances user trust, ethical concerns and the financial demands of scaling artificial intelligence at a global level.
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