(Credit: OpenAI)
A few weeks after confirming plans to test ads on ChatGPT, they’re here and appearing for all free users in the US.
The ads, which started rolling out on Feb. 9, appear as a sponsored section at the bottom of ChatGPT results, with OpenAI promising that its AI won’t include ads in its answers. "Answers are optimized based on what’s most helpful to you. When you see [ads], they are always clearly labeled as sponsored and visually separated from the organic answer," OpenAI says.
It will use your conversation history, the current topic you're discussing, and your interactions with other ads in ChatGPT to influence what you’re shown. Think of it like how Google ads know what you previously searched for and recommend similar products around organic results.
To avoid ads, you’ll need to be a subscriber to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, or one of the brand's business or education options. It means you have to pay at least $20 a month to avoid ads without any limitations. OpenAI's newest $8 ChatGPT Go subscription, which launched in January for US users, will show ads.
If you want to avoid ads without paying, you can opt out, but it'll limit the number of back-and-forth messages. To do so, head to your Profile > Settings > Ad controls > Change plan to go ad-free > Reduce message limits. It’ll ask you to confirm that you want fewer messages before proceeding, but the brand hasn't yet shared how many messages you'll be able to use.
(Credit: OpenAI)For now, you can also use ChatGPT without signing in to avoid ads. However, it's not clear how long that will be the case, and you'll lose out on benefits such as ChatGPT learning about you to improve its results.
"Our focus with this test is learning," OpenAI says. "We’re paying close attention to feedback so we can make sure ads feel useful and fit naturally into the ChatGPT experience before expanding." Those comments suggest we may see rapid changes in how the brand implements ads over the coming months.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.