completion dating weeksOpenAI has started test ads within ChatGPT in the US, marking a major evolution in the product’s business model and user experience. The rollout will affect those with Free tier plans and the new lower-cost ChatGPT Go plan. People in paid tiers like Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise will remain without ads.

The company says this early ad experiment is part of its effort to support broader access to powerful AI features while helping fund the infrastructure and development that keeps ChatGPT running at scale.

The company says the ads will be clearly marked as sponsored and visually separated from the chatbot responses.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, saying it infringed on Ziff Davis’ copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Also read: ChatGPT Free vs. ChatGPT Plus: Paying $20 Per Month Is Worth It

Controlled advertising and privacy

According to OpenAIads cannot influence chatbot responses or compromise privacy. Conversations and personal chat data will not be shared with advertisers. You can also control your ad experience, including toggles for personalization or the option to opt out completely in exchange for fewer free messages.

As part of the rollout, each ad is tailored to the topic a user has already discussed, although there are safeguards in place to prevent ads appearing in sensitive contexts, such as health or political discussions.

The company emphasizes that this first phase is a test-and-learn moment. Feedback from early users will help shape how ads are refined and potentially expanded in the future. OpenAI says it will use insights from this pilot to better balance monetization with user experience.

The wider implications

The introduction of ChatGPT ads comes amid growing competitive pressure on the AI ​​industry and heightened expectations around sustainable revenue models for major AI platforms. While the move drew mixed reactions from users and industry observers, OpenAI maintained that the ads were intended to subsidize free and low-cost access.

As testing continues, OpenAI’s approach will likely influence how other AI companies think about monetization and the role of advertising in conversational AI tools, regardless of how many platforms — such as Anthropic — has “promised” to exclude ads. Anthropic even ran a Super Bowl series commercialswhich scoffed at the idea of ​​ads featuring AI discussions. In one of them, for example, a young man asks the AI ​​for help to get six pack abs, and the AI, in the form of a personal trainer, starts helping him, then starts hawking fictional insoles that will make him taller.

Also read: Meta’s All In AI Creates the Ads You See on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp