OpenAI has begun rolling out advertisements inside ChatGPT as part of a new test. The company announced the move through a blog post that was shared Monday, February 9. But this change will only affect users on the Free and ChatGPT Go plans. The company says this is an early test and not a full-scale rollout yet which is being tested in US for now. The idea is to observe how ads fit into the overall experience.
For now, these ads will be shown only to a limited group of users. Users on paid plans such as Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise will continue to have an ad-free experience. The company has not shared details on whether or when this test will expand to other regions. It has only said that this is an initial phase to understand how ads work within ChatGPT.
The blog also explained why OpenAI is bringing ads into ChatGPT. The company noted that the platform is used by hundreds of millions of people for learning, work and daily decision-making. “Keeping the Free and Go tiers fast and reliable requires significant infrastructure and ongoing investment. Ads help fund that work, supporting broader access to AI through higher quality free and low cost options, and enabling us to keep improving the intelligence and capabilities we offer over time,” it noted.
The company has also clarified whether ads will affect how ChatGPT responds to users. According to OpenAI, the presence of ads will not change the answers users receive. “Ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you. Answers are optimized based on what is most helpful to you. When you see an ad, they are always clearly labeled as sponsored and visually separated from the organic answer,” the company said.
Another concern many users had was about privacy and whether advertisers would get access to personal chats. OpenAI addressed this directly and stated that advertisers will not be able to see conversations. “Ads are designed to respect your privacy. Advertisers do not have access to your chats, chat history, memories, or personal details. Advertisers only receive aggregate information about how their ads perform such as number of views or clicks,” it noted.
OpenAI has also said that ads will not be shown to everyone. “During our test, we will not show ads in accounts where the user tells us or we predict that they are under 18,” the company explained. Ads will also not appear around sensitive topics such as health, mental health or politics. OpenAI added that these safeguards will expand slowly as the testing continues. The company says user safety and privacy will remain a priority as the ad program grows.
Users will also have control over the ads they see. OpenAI said people can dismiss ads, share feedback and check why a particular ad is being shown. Users can also delete ad-related data with a single tap and manage ad personalisation whenever they want. “If you prefer not to see ads, you can upgrade to our Plus or Pro plans, or opt out of ads in the Free tier in exchange for fewer daily free messages,” the company said.
Although the ad test is currently limited to US, Indian users may see similar changes in the future. If ads are introduced in India, free users could notice a busier interface and more prompts to upgrade to paid plans. Over time, there may also be concerns about sponsored content appearing alongside advice-heavy queries. Even if answers remain unbiased, users will need to stay alert while reading results.
Ad-based systems usually rely on interest tracking, which means users may need to monitor settings, permissions, and data-sharing policies carefully. Many middle-class users in India depend heavily on AI tools. This means that they need to make a choice between tolerating ads, paying for subscriptions, or switching platforms. Many companies too can adopt a model that is similar to that of OpenAI. They already use AI in the customer-service system and may soon start adding ads inside their chatbots.
ChatGPT is not the only AI platform exploring ads. Google Gemini currently does not show ads inside normal chats but plans to place ads in AI-powered search experiences. Meta AI does not show clear ads in chats, but user interactions can help refine advertising across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Many website-based chatbots already push promotions or products as part of conversations even if they are not clearly marked as ads. Claude by Anthropic does not show ads and earns mainly through subscriptions and enterprise use.
