Overview
- OpenAI is widening a staged test of advertising in ChatGPT so more users in Europe and Asia will see ads integrated into chat threads.
- Ads will appear under model responses and be labeled “Sponsored,” and the test will affect free-tier users and subscribers to the new low-cost ChatGPT Go plan.
- OpenAI says it chooses ads by matching advertiser creatives to the current conversation and, where allowed, prior chats or past ad interactions.
- European users in the EU/EEA and Switzerland will not receive personalized ads by default and must opt in for ads that use past chats, and OpenAI says it will not share individual chat contents with advertisers and is excluding minors from the test.
- The move follows months of ad testing and product changes and is presented by OpenAI as a core revenue strategy to fund large AI investments while offering an ad-free free option with lower usage limits for users who want no ads.