OpenAI to Begin Testing Ads in ChatGPT to Boost Revenue

OpenAI said on Friday it will begin testing advertisements in ChatGPT for some users in the United States, a significant shift as the company looks for new ways to fund the soaring costs of developing artificial intelligence.

The ads will appear for users on ChatGPT’s free tier and its lower-cost Go plan, which OpenAI is now rolling out globally. The company said the ads will start showing up in the coming weeks and will be clearly separated from ChatGPT’s responses.

Users on higher-priced plans Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise will remain ad-free. OpenAI also stressed that advertising will not influence ChatGPT’s answers and that user conversations will not be shared with advertisers.

The move marks a major change for OpenAI, which has so far relied primarily on subscriptions for revenue. It highlights the growing financial pressure on the company as it pours money into data centers and prepares for a widely anticipated initial public offering.

OpenAI has said it expects to spend more than $1 trillion on AI infrastructure by 2030, though it has not disclosed how it plans to fund that investment. Analysts say advertising could unlock a powerful new revenue stream, given ChatGPT’s estimated 800 million weekly active users. Still, they warn the strategy could frustrate users and undermine trust if ads feel intrusive.

“If ads feel clumsy or opportunistic, users can easily switch to rivals like Google’s Gemini or Anthropic’s Claude,” said eMarketer analyst Jeremy Goldman. At the same time, he noted the move could pressure competitors to explain their own monetization strategies, particularly those that market themselves as ad-free.

OpenAI said it will not show ads to users under 18 and will block ads related to sensitive topics such as health and politics.

“We plan to test ads at the bottom of answers in ChatGPT when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation,” the company said in a statement.

The ChatGPT Go plan, which was first launched in India, will be available in the U.S. for $8 per month, OpenAI added.