(Credit: OpenAI)
OpenAI is putting ads into ChatGPT in "the coming weeks," as well as bringing its ChatGPT Go subscription tier to the US starting today.
The free ChatGPT and ChatGPT Go plans will have advertisements, which is the biggest news, given ChatGPT Go has already launched in 171 countries since August. For $8 per month, it offers more access to messaging, image creation, file uploads, and memory. The pricier plans, including ChatGPT Plus ($20) and Business and Enterprise, will not include ads. You also won't see ads if you're not logged in, which could be a way to good way to avoid them—for now.
In a mockup, ChatGPT ads appear at the bottom of a chatbot's response with a "Sponsored" label. They include links to click out to other sites and purchase. This could bring many more images to a standard ChatGPT conversation, which today is mostly text, aside from AI-generated images.
(Credit: OpenAI)OpenAI says the ads will "not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you" and that the chatbot's "answers are optimized based on what's most helpful to you." It also vows not to share the conversation with advertisers; however, it does seem to have certain settings that share data with advertisers, which you can toggle off.
"You can turn off personalization, and you can clear the data used for ads at any time," OpenAI says. "We’ll always offer a way to not see ads in ChatGPT, including a paid tier that’s ad-free."
CEO Sam Altman told Stratechery in 2024 that he likes Instagram ads. "I love Instagram ads, they’ve added value to me, I found stuff I never would’ve found, I bought a bunch of stuff, I actively like Instagram ads." He could be aiming for a similar result with ChatGPT.
"The best ads are useful, entertaining, and help people discover new products and services," OpenAI says. Crucially, they are also lucrative, and OpenAI has to pay back its investors.
We may also see new kinds of advertisements, thanks to AI. "For example, soon you might see an ad and be able to directly ask the questions you need to make a purchase decision," OpenAI says. That theoretically sounds like ChatGPT might suggest a $20 T-shirt you like, but you wonder if it comes in a long-sleeve version. You could ask the ad (retailer) directly, it could confirm there's a long sleeve version, and then you click to go to the site to buy.
We'll soon find out exactly what OpenAI has up its sleeve. Testing of the first formats starts "in the coming weeks and months" and will evolve over time.
OpenAI has reportedly been discussing ads in ChatGPT over the past year, and already faced user backlash after it tested "app suggestions" last month, which was a nudge for users to connect apps from partners like Target and Spotify for more in-depth answers.