Overview
- OpenAI began a limited rollout of ads to a subset of logged‑in adult users on the Free and $8‑per‑month Go tiers in the United States, keeping Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education plans ad‑free.
- Sponsored placements appear below ChatGPT’s responses, are clearly labeled, do not change answers, and are excluded from conversations about health, mental health, or politics as well as from under‑18 accounts.
- Ad targeting is contextual to the current chat and prior ad interactions; advertisers receive only aggregate metrics, and users can disable personalization, clear ad data, or opt out on the Free tier in exchange for fewer daily messages.
- Early advertisers include Target, Adobe, Audible, and Williams‑Sonoma, with agency buys from WPP for Ford, Mazda, Mrs. Myers, and Audemars Piguet, and broader client participation via Dentsu and Omnicom.
- Positioned as a learning pilot to inform future expansion, the move is intended to offset infrastructure costs and has prompted public jabs from rival Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads and a rebuttal from CEO Sam Altman.