OpenAI to begin testing ads in ChatGPT in U.S.

OpenAI has announced plans to begin testing advertising in the United States in the coming weeks, while stressing that ads will not influence responses or compromise user privacy.

It has also expanded access to its low-cost ChatGPT Go subscription to the U.S.

The ChatGPT parent plans to test ads for logged-in adult users in the U.S. on the free and Go tiers. Ads are expected to appear at the bottom of responses when there is a relevant sponsored product or service. They will be clearly labelled and separated from answers, OpenAI said.

“People trust ChatGPT for many important and personal tasks, so as we introduce ads, it’s crucial we preserve what makes ChatGPT valuable in the first place,” the company said. It added that the chatbot’s answers will remain independent of advertising and that user conversations will not be shared or sold to advertisers.

OpenAI said users will have control over ad personalisation and will be able to turn it off or clear related data. It will not show ads to users under 18 or alongside sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health, or politics.

“We want to be clear about the principles that guide our approach to advertising,” OpenAI said, outlining commitments to mission alignment, answer independence, conversation privacy, user choice and long-term value over time spent on the platform.

The initial ad tests are intended to support broader access to AI tools with fewer usage limits. “We’re not launching ads yet, but we do plan to start testing in the coming weeks,” it said.

It will refine how ads appear based on feedback, but emphasised that its long-term focus remains on paid subscriptions and enterprise products, with advertising forming part of a diversified revenue model.