On Monday, OpenAI started testing advertising inside ChatGPT for U.S. users on its Free and Go plans, saying the move will not influence responses or compromise user privacy.
Ads Come To ChatGPT’s Lowest-Cost Plans
OpenAI said it is rolling out a limited ad test for ChatGPT users in the U.S. on its Free tier and the recently launched Go subscription, which costs $8 a month.
The company said that customers on paid plans — including Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education — will remain ad-free.
The Go plan debuted globally in mid-January as a lower-priced option aimed at expanding access to more advanced ChatGPT features.
OpenAI: Ads Won’t Shape AI Responses
Addressing concerns about trust and neutrality, OpenAI said ads will be clearly labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT’s responses.
“Ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers. Ads are labeled as sponsored and visually separate from the response,” the company wrote in a blog post.
OpenAI said advertisers will only receive aggregated performance data, such as views and clicks, not access to individual user conversations.
How Ads Are Targeted — And Controlled
During testing, ads may be shown based on conversation topics, prior chats or past ad interactions.
For example, users asking about recipes could see ads for grocery delivery or meal kits.
OpenAI said users can dismiss ads, view why they were shown one, manage ad personalization and clear their ad history.
Ads will not be shown to users under 18 or alongside sensitive topics such as health, politics or mental health.
Rival Jabs And User Skepticism
The move drew public ridicule from rival Anthropic, which mocked AI advertising in Super Bowl commercials.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed the campaign as “dishonest,” calling Anthropic an “authoritarian company.”
Despite user resistance to ads in AI tools, OpenAI is under pressure to generate revenue to support the growing costs of building and operating its models.
Last month, OpenAI said its annualized revenue run rate topped $20 billion in 2025, marking a 233% jump from 2024 and a sharp acceleration from the previous year, when revenue climbed from $2 billion in 2023 to $6 billion in 2024.
The company is said to be spending more than $17 billion a year, while subscription revenue alone may not be enough to sustain its extremely compute-heavy AI infrastructure.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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