OpenAI announced that it will begin testing advertisements in ChatGPT for free and Go tier users in the United States, marking a significant shift in the AI company's revenue strategy. The advertisements will appear at the bottom of user conversations and will be targeted to the topic of discussion, whilst the company's more expensive paid tiers—Pro, Plus, Business, and Enterprise—will not receive any advertisements. This move comes as OpenAI attempts to generate more revenue from its 800 million monthly users to help afford the $1.4 trillion it has committed to spending on AI infrastructure over the next eight years.
ChatGPT Go, which launched in 171 countries in August 2025, represents OpenAI's low-cost subscription tier at $8 per month, positioned below the Plus tier at $20 per month and Pro tier at $200 per month. The advertisements will be tested at the bottom of answers in ChatGPT when there is a relevant sponsored product or service based on the current conversation, with OpenAI maintaining that advertisements do not influence the answers ChatGPT provides. Users will be able to dismiss advertisements, see explanations for why they are being shown particular ones, and turn off personalisation to reduce targeted advertising, whilst OpenAI has committed not to serve advertisements to users it believes are under the age of 18 and has promised not to sell users' data to advertisers. The company plans to start testing advertisements in the coming weeks for logged-in adults in the United States on the free and Go tiers, representing a strategic pivot towards diversified revenue generation.
The introduction of targeted advertising to ChatGPT demonstrates how AI companies are exploring monetisation strategies beyond subscription models, particularly as infrastructure costs continue to escalate in the competitive AI landscape. OpenAI believes in having a diverse revenue model where advertisements can play a part in making intelligence more accessible to everyone, whilst maintaining that user trust and user experience are prioritised over revenue. This strategic shift reflects the company's need to balance accessibility for its 800 million monthly users with the substantial financial commitments required for AI infrastructure development.
Sources:
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/chatgpt-users-are-about-to-get-hit-with-targeted-ads/
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/16/tech/chatgpt-ads-openai
https://openai.com/index/our-approach-to-advertising-and-expanding-access/
