After months and months of speculation, it’s official: ads are coming to ChatGPT and will first be shown to some US users, primarily on free or lower-priced plans.
Ads within chatbots have been considered a widely controversial topic, considering the amount of personal information chatbots can process. There were additional concerns about responses potentially blurring the lines between genuine answers and ads with the introduction of sponsored content.
Sam Altman was open to the idea of ads on the platform already in June, saying that he’s “not totally against it” during the debut episode of OpenAI’s official podcast. However, Atman stressed that it will take a lot of care to get it right.
On Friday, OpenAI said that it will begin internal testing of ads in ChatGPT for Free and Go users in the US. Ads are not yet live and will not be added for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu accounts.
The company added that ads will not influence the answers produced by ChatGPT but rather be “separate and clearly labeled”. Users should always be able to tell what’s an ad and what’s an answer.
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"We plan to test ads at the bottom of answers in ChatGPT when there's a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation," the startup said in a statement, according to Reuters.
OpenAI also reportedly said that ads will not be shown to users under 18 and that it will block ads from appearing in relation to sensitive topics, such as health and politics.
As for sharing user data or any other relevant information, OpenAI assured that it does not share your conversations with ChatGPT with advertisers. If you choose to message an advertiser through an ad, they will only be able to see what you messaged them directly.
You can opt in for more personalized ads, but even then, the company says your data will not be sold to advertisers, and you can clear all data used for ads at any time.
The revenue scheme will be a significant shift for OpenAI, which had so far relied on a subscription model for ChatGPT, amid the high costs of operating the technology and data centers.
In December, Google’s Dan Taylor, VP of Global Ads, posted on X that no ads are planned to be added to the Gemini app, ChatGPT’s direct rival, despite the circulating rumors.
This story is based on uninformed, anonymous sources who are making inaccurate claims. There are no ads in the Gemini app and there are no current plans to change that.
undefined Dan Taylor (@edantaylor) December 8, 2025
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