OpenAI has started testing advertisements in the basic versions of ChatGPT as part of its effort to manage rising operational costs and explore new revenue streams. The experiment is currently limited to a small group of logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers in the United States. Premium subscription plans will remain completely ad-free.
According to the company, advertisements will not influence ChatGPT’s responses, and user conversations will continue to remain private and inaccessible to advertisers. OpenAI emphasized that the integrity of AI-generated answers will not be affected by advertising content.
Since its launch in 2022, ChatGPT has grown rapidly, contributing to OpenAI’s massive valuation growth. However, the company also faces significant expenses, largely driven by the high computing power required to operate advanced AI systems at scale. Introducing ads is seen as one way to offset these costs while keeping the free version accessible to users.
The move has attracted attention across the AI industry, especially because OpenAI’s leadership had previously expressed concerns about advertising potentially affecting user trust. Meanwhile, competitors have highlighted their own ad-free positioning in response to the development.
OpenAI’s testing phase will help determine whether users are comfortable with limited advertising as the company continues to balance accessibility, growth, and sustainability in the rapidly evolving AI market.
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