OpenAI announced on Friday that it has begun placing advertisements on the ChatGPT platform. According to the decision, free users and ChatGPT Go subscribers, which costs $8 per month, will soon see sponsored products and services at the bottom of responses.
News outlets report that advertisements will only be shown when they are thematically relevant to the user's conversation and will be marked with a "sponsored" label. The company emphasized that advertisements will not affect the content of ChatGPT's responses. Pro, Business, and Enterprise subscriptions will remain completely ad-free, and during the testing phase, ads will only be shown to free and Go-level users in the US.
OpenAI also stated that user conversations will not be sold to advertisers. Ads will not be displayed on topics related to health, mental health, and politics, and ads will be deactivated for users under 18. The company noted that these restrictions are aimed at protecting user safety and trust.
According to information, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had previously expressed opposition to advertising, calling the idea "particularly disturbing." However, the company's need for additional financial resources is highlighted against the backdrop of infrastructure obligations amounting to $1.4 trillion. Statistics show that only 5% of the 800 million weekly users are paid subscribers, a figure insufficient for the sustainability of the business model.
Experts believe this move is an attempt by OpenAI to demonstrate the monetization of its free users in preparation for an IPO. Displaying ads directly at the end of conversations may lead users to view them with less suspicion and click on them more often compared to search ads. Analysts state that if OpenAI successfully implements this model, the entire artificial intelligence industry, including Google Gemini, may adopt a similar approach.
Editor's comments note that this decision transforms ChatGPT from a neutral tool into a platform more akin to the Google search engine. As ads become the primary source of revenue for the business, it is not excluded that advertisers' indirect influence will increase. For users, this creates a new reality of their data being used in targeted advertising mechanisms in exchange for continued free access.
News outlets report that advertisements will only be shown when they are thematically relevant to the user's conversation and will be marked with a "sponsored" label. The company emphasized that advertisements will not affect the content of ChatGPT's responses. Pro, Business, and Enterprise subscriptions will remain completely ad-free, and during the testing phase, ads will only be shown to free and Go-level users in the US.
OpenAI also stated that user conversations will not be sold to advertisers. Ads will not be displayed on topics related to health, mental health, and politics, and ads will be deactivated for users under 18. The company noted that these restrictions are aimed at protecting user safety and trust.
According to information, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had previously expressed opposition to advertising, calling the idea "particularly disturbing." However, the company's need for additional financial resources is highlighted against the backdrop of infrastructure obligations amounting to $1.4 trillion. Statistics show that only 5% of the 800 million weekly users are paid subscribers, a figure insufficient for the sustainability of the business model.
Experts believe this move is an attempt by OpenAI to demonstrate the monetization of its free users in preparation for an IPO. Displaying ads directly at the end of conversations may lead users to view them with less suspicion and click on them more often compared to search ads. Analysts state that if OpenAI successfully implements this model, the entire artificial intelligence industry, including Google Gemini, may adopt a similar approach.
Editor's comments note that this decision transforms ChatGPT from a neutral tool into a platform more akin to the Google search engine. As ads become the primary source of revenue for the business, it is not excluded that advertisers' indirect influence will increase. For users, this creates a new reality of their data being used in targeted advertising mechanisms in exchange for continued free access.