On January 16, 2026, OpenAI announced it will begin testing ads within ChatGPT for certain users. This marks a big change for the AI company. For years, ChatGPT stayed mostly ad-free. Now, OpenAI wants to try a new way to make money.
The ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT's answers and will be clearly labeled. OpenAI will test this feature with free users and ChatGPT Go subscribers in the United States. The more expensive plans will stay ad-free.
This article explains everything you need to know about ChatGPT ads. You'll learn which users will see ads, how the ads work, and what this means for the future of AI tools.
Why OpenAI Is Adding Ads to ChatGPT
OpenAI faces huge costs to run ChatGPT. The company needs powerful computers to keep the AI working. These computers cost billions of dollars to build and maintain.
OpenAI projects $1.4 trillion in infrastructure costs over the next decade. This massive expense pushes the company to find new ways to make money. CEO Sam Altman stated that many people want to use AI without paying, so the company hopes a business model like advertising can work.
The company already makes money from subscriptions. The privately held startup was on track to hit a $20 billion revenue run rate in 2025. But that's not enough to cover all the costs. Advertising could add billions more in revenue each year.
Other tech companies make huge profits from ads. Google raked in $74.2 billion in advertising during the third quarter alone, not counting another $10.2 billion from YouTube. OpenAI wants a piece of that market.
Which ChatGPT Plans Will Show Ads
OpenAI will test ads on specific subscription tiers only. Here's the breakdown:
| Subscription Tier | Monthly Price | Will See Ads | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Yes | Basic GPT access, limited messages |
| ChatGPT Go | $8 | Yes | 10x more messages, image creation, file uploads |
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 | No | Advanced models, Sora video, unlimited messages |
| ChatGPT Pro | $200 | No | Most powerful AI, priority access, early features |
| Business/Enterprise | Custom | No | Team features, admin controls, security |
OpenAI said its Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscriptions will not include ads, but it plans to start testing them with adult free users in the U.S. The company also made ChatGPT Go available in the United States.
What Is ChatGPT Go?
ChatGPT Go launched in August 2025 in India as a low-cost subscription designed to expand access to ChatGPT's most popular features. The plan quickly spread to other countries. Now it's available worldwide.
ChatGPT Go provides expanded access to ChatGPT's latest model, GPT-5.2 Instant, with 10× more messages, file uploads, and image creation allowed compared to the free tier. It also offers longer memory so ChatGPT remembers your conversations better.
The $8 monthly price sits between the free version and the $20 ChatGPT Plus plan. This makes it perfect for people who need more than the free tier but don't want to pay $20 per month.
ChatGPT Go subscribers will see ads just like free users. Both the Free tier and ChatGPT Go will now feature advertisements, while the high-end Plus and Pro tiers will remain ad-free.
How ChatGPT Ads Will Work
OpenAI designed the ads to feel different from regular banner ads. OpenAI has dubbed them "Sponsored Recommendations"—context-aware suggestions that appear in a distinct box at the bottom of a response.
The ads match what you're talking about. For instance, a user asking for a keto-friendly dinner recipe might see a sponsored link for a specific brand of avocado oil or a nearby grocery delivery service.
Ads will be clearly labeled and separated from the organic answer. You can learn why you're seeing each ad. You can also dismiss ads and tell OpenAI why you don't want to see them.
The testing starts soon. Ads will begin to appear in the coming weeks for logged-in adult users.
OpenAI's Advertising Principles
OpenAI promises to handle ads carefully. The company shared five main principles:
Answer Independence
Ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you. The AI will respond based on what's helpful, not what advertisers pay for. This keeps ChatGPT trustworthy.
Conversation Privacy
OpenAI keeps your conversations with ChatGPT private from advertisers, and never sells your data to advertisers. Your private chats stay private. Advertisers can't see what you talk about.
Choice and Control
You control your ad experience. You can turn off personalization, and you can clear the data used for ads at any time. OpenAI will always offer a paid tier without ads.
Mission Alignment
OpenAI's mission is to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity; the pursuit of advertising is always in support of that mission and making AI more accessible. The company says ads help more people use ChatGPT.
Long-Term Value
OpenAI does not optimize for time spent in ChatGPT and prioritizes user trust and user experience over revenue. The company won't make changes just to show more ads.
Where Ads Won't Appear
OpenAI set clear limits on advertising. The company wants to protect users in sensitive situations.
Ads will not appear near sensitive or regulated topics including health, mental health, or politics. If you ask ChatGPT about medical advice or political issues, you won't see sponsored content.
OpenAI will not serve ads to users who have identified themselves as, or who it believes are, under 18. The company uses AI to guess users' ages based on their conversations. This protects younger users.
Why This Matters for AI Accessibility
Advertising could help millions of people access better AI tools. Right now, many people use the free version of ChatGPT. It has strict limits on how many messages you can send.
With ad revenue, OpenAI can give free users more features. The company wants more people to benefit from its tools with fewer usage limits or without having to pay.
Last fall, OpenAI said its large-language model was drawing 800 million users. Most of these people don't pay for subscriptions. Ads could help OpenAI serve all these users better.
The company could use ad money to improve the free tier. This makes powerful AI tools available to students, job seekers, and people in countries where $20 per month costs too much.
The Business Case for ChatGPT Advertising
OpenAI sees huge potential in advertising. The numbers tell an interesting story.
While over 90% of ChatGPT queries are informational rather than transactional, the conversion rate for referrals within a conversation is reportedly 23 times higher than traditional search. This happens because ChatGPT understands what you need before showing recommendations.
This shift from a "link-based" to an "answer-based" economy is the most profound change in digital marketing since the invention of the search engine. Instead of clicking through search results, users get answers with relevant products built in.
OpenAI's decision to embrace advertising reflects a broader push to diversify its revenue ahead of a potential initial public offering. The company might go public soon. Strong revenue from different sources makes that easier.
How This Compares to Other AI Platforms
OpenAI isn't the first AI company to test ads. Other platforms already use advertising.
In December, Meta began using information from users' interactions with its AI chatbot to target them with more personalized ads. Meta's approach shows ads across Facebook and Instagram based on AI chats.
Google already shows ads in its AI search features. The company has decades of experience with advertising. Alphabet finds itself in the most precarious position, as OpenAI's move into advertising directly threatens Google's revenue stream.
ChatGPT's advertising could work differently. The conversational format lets ads feel more natural. They appear as recommendations instead of interruptions.
What Users Should Expect
The ad testing will start small. OpenAI wants to learn what works before rolling out ads widely.
OpenAI will learn from feedback and refine how ads show up over time, but its commitment to putting users first and maintaining trust won't change. The company promises to listen to user feedback.
You'll see ads at the bottom of responses. They'll be marked as "sponsored" so you know they're ads. You can click to learn why you're seeing each ad.
If you don't like ads, you have options. You can upgrade to ChatGPT Plus for $20 per month. OpenAI will always offer a way to not see ads in ChatGPT, including a paid tier that's ad-free.
Sam Altman's Views on Advertising
Altman has publicly expressed reservations about introducing ads to ChatGPT in recent years, stating in interviews that doing so could erode users' trust in OpenAI's products. The CEO worried that ads might make ChatGPT less useful.
Altman said in a 2024 interview that he "hates" ads and called the idea of combining ads with AI "uniquely unsettling". He added that OpenAI would need to get advertising right if they tried it.
But in a November podcast appearance, Altman said he expected OpenAI to try ads "at some point," though he added that he did not believe it would be the company's biggest revenue opportunity. This shows the tension between Altman's personal views and business needs.
The financial pressure changed his mind. With billions in infrastructure costs, OpenAI needs multiple revenue streams.
Privacy and Data Protection
OpenAI made strong promises about user privacy. These commitments matter because people share personal information with ChatGPT.
The company said it will not sell user data or conversations to advertisers and that users can turn off ad personalization based on their chats. Your conversations stay between you and ChatGPT.
The ads use context from your current chat to show relevant products. But this data doesn't go to advertisers. OpenAI's system picks ads based on what you're discussing, then shows you options.
You control your data. You can turn off personalized ads completely. You can also delete the data OpenAI uses for advertising at any time.
Regulatory Concerns and Challenges
New AI advertising faces scrutiny from regulators. Governments want to make sure AI companies protect users.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated "Operation AI Comply," focusing on how AI companies utilize chat data for commercial purposes. This investigation looks at whether AI companies misuse user information.
The European Union's AI Act, which becomes fully effective in August 2026, will require all AI-generated advertising content to be machine-readable and explicit. These rules will force OpenAI to label ads clearly in Europe.
OpenAI must prove it can show ads without breaking trust. The company's success depends on users believing their conversations stay private.
Impact on Google and Competitors
OpenAI's move into advertising threatens Google's business. For the first time in over a decade, Google's share of the search market dipped below 90% in 2025. ChatGPT could take more market share.
Google makes most of its money from search ads. If people use ChatGPT instead of Google Search, ad revenue shifts to OpenAI. This creates fierce competition.
While Google has countered by integrating ads into its own "AI Overviews," OpenAI's "Answer-based" economy is proving to be a formidable competitor for informational queries. The race to dominate AI advertising has started.
What Advertisers Should Know
For businesses, ChatGPT ads offer new opportunities. The platform reaches hundreds of millions of users.
For marketing professionals, the January 16 announcement transforms ChatGPT from potential future advertising channel into confirmed testing ground for conversational advertising formats. Brands can now plan campaigns for ChatGPT.
The ads work differently from search or social media. The "coming weeks" timeline suggests implementation could begin before February 2026, creating immediate planning requirements for brands. Early advertisers might get better results as they learn the system.
Conversational ads require new skills. Marketers need to understand how ChatGPT users think and what they ask about. The best ads will answer real questions with useful products.
Timeline of Key Events
Understanding when things happened helps explain OpenAI's strategy:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| August 2025 | ChatGPT Go launches in India |
| December 2, 2025 | OpenAI issues "code red" to delay ads and improve core features |
| December 2025 | Reports surface about OpenAI building ad-tech team |
| January 16, 2026 | OpenAI announces ad testing for U.S. users |
| January 16, 2026 | ChatGPT Go expands globally, including U.S. at $8/month |
| Coming weeks | Ad testing begins for free and Go tier users |
The timeline follows multiple delays throughout 2025, including a December 2, 2025 "code red" directive that explicitly postponed advertising implementation while the company focused on improving ChatGPT's core functionality.
Should You Upgrade to Avoid Ads?
The decision depends on how you use ChatGPT. Here's a simple guide:
Stay on Free or Go if:
- You use ChatGPT occasionally
- Ads don't bother you much
- You want to save money
- Basic features meet your needs
Upgrade to Plus if:
- You use ChatGPT for work every day
- You need advanced features like Sora video creation
- You want unlimited messages
- You value an ad-free experience
- You need access to legacy AI models
Choose Pro if:
- You're an AI power user
- You need maximum performance
- You want early access to new features
- Budget isn't a concern
The $8 ChatGPT Go plan offers a middle ground. You get much better features than free, but you'll see ads. This works well for students and casual users who need more than the free tier provides.
The Future of AI Advertising
ChatGPT ads could change how companies market products. Given what AI can do, OpenAI is excited to develop new experiences over time that people find more helpful and relevant than any other ads.
The company hints at bigger plans. Soon you might see an ad and be able to directly ask the questions you need to make a purchase decision. This creates interactive shopping experiences.
AI advertising could become more useful than annoying. Instead of random banner ads, you might get product recommendations that actually solve your problems. The AI understands what you need and suggests real solutions.
Other AI companies will likely follow OpenAI's lead. If ChatGPT advertising succeeds, expect ads in more AI tools. This could become the standard way to fund free AI services.
Key Takeaways
OpenAI's move into advertising marks a turning point for AI tools. Here's what matters most:
ChatGPT will test ads with free and Go tier users in the United States. The ads appear at the bottom of responses and match your conversation topics. Plus, Pro, and Business subscribers won't see any ads.
OpenAI promises ads won't influence ChatGPT's answers. Your conversations stay private. The company won't sell your data to advertisers. You can turn off personalized ads anytime.
The company needs advertising revenue to cover massive infrastructure costs. This money could help improve the free tier and make AI accessible to more people. The testing starts in the coming weeks.
If you don't want ads, you can upgrade to ChatGPT Plus for $20 per month. Or you can stick with the free or Go tiers and see if the ads bother you. The choice depends on your needs and budget.
By starting the ad platform from the ground up with these principles in place, OpenAI can align its incentives with what people want from ChatGPT. The company's success depends on keeping users happy while making enough money to keep improving the service.
The next few months will show whether OpenAI can balance advertising with user trust. This experiment could define how AI companies make money for years to come.