Overview

• Sam Altman told OpenAI’s new podcast he’s “not totally against” placing ads in ChatGPT, marking a departure from his earlier view of advertising as a last resort.
• He cautioned that any ad integration must be handled carefully given ChatGPT’s propensity to hallucinate and the high level of user trust.
• Running ChatGPT costs an estimated $3–4 billion a year, prompting the company to explore additional revenue avenues.
• OpenAI has secured roughly $40 billion in funding—including a recent $200 million U.S. Defense Department contract—and is still seeking sustainable income streams.
• Rival firms such as Google are already piloting native ads in their AI chatbots, creating a template for potential monetization.