OpenAI tests ads in ChatGPT for free users

OpenAI has started testing ads in ChatGPT for adults in the United States who use the Free and Go plans. The test does not affect Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Education, which will remain ad-free.

The ad will appear visually separate from ChatGPT’s response and will be labeled as sponsored. OpenAI says advertising will not influence responses: the system will continue trying to answer based on what it considers most useful for your query.

How the ads will work

During the test, ChatGPT will choose which ad to show based on the topic of the conversation, your previous chats and your earlier interactions with ads. If you are looking for recipes, for example, you might see ads for food delivery services or cooking kits.

That does not mean advertisers can read your conversations. OpenAI says they will not have access to:

• Your chats or conversation history.
• Your memories within ChatGPT.
• Your personal data.

Advertisers will only receive aggregated data about campaign performance, such as the number of views or clicks.

The company also says ads will not appear on accounts whose users state or appear to be under 18. They also cannot be shown alongside sensitive or regulated topics, such as health, mental health or politics.

Why OpenAI is introducing advertising

Keeping free plans fast and available to hundreds of millions of people requires expensive infrastructure. OpenAI presents ads as a way to fund that access and continue offering more advanced features on free or low-cost plans.

If you do not want to see ads, you will have several options: move to Plus or Pro, which do not include ads, or turn them off on the Free plan. In the latter case, however, you will have fewer free messages per day.

The company also promises controls to manage the experience. You will be able to close an ad, send feedback, find out why it appeared, delete the data associated with advertising with one tap and change personalization settings.

What changes for you

If you use ChatGPT for free in the United States and are an adult, you could start seeing ads related to what you are researching or comparing. In theory, they will be separate from the response, but they will appear within the same conversation experience.

That detail matters. When you ask ChatGPT which laptop to buy, which course to choose or where to find certain products, you are close to making a decision. OpenAI wants ads to fit precisely into those moments, although it will have to show that they remain useful without being confused with a recommendation from the system itself.

The test also creates a tension OpenAI will have to monitor: even if the advertiser cannot see your chats, the platform can use the context of your conversations to decide which ads to show you. The company says it will maintain controls to prevent overly specific targeting, scams and misleading ads.

For now, the stated goal is not to expand the system immediately, but to learn from real-world use and user feedback. The important question will be whether ChatGPT can introduce advertising without eroding the separation between an independent response and a paid promotion. That boundary will determine how much the tool changes for people who use it to learn, work or make decisions.