OpenAI on Friday announced it will begin testing ads within ChatGPT in the coming weeks. The company said its Plus, Pro, and Enterprise subscriptions will not include ads, while testing will start with adult free users in the U.S. OpenAI also made its low-cost Go offering available in the U.S. on Friday and said users on that plan will also begin to see ads.
In a statement the OpenAI said:
“We’re not launching ads yet, but we do plan to start testing in the coming weeks for logged in adults in the U.S. on the free and Go tiers. To start, 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. Ads will be clearly labeled and separated from the organic answer.”
The company also said that during the test, it will not show ads in accounts where the user tells the company, or where it predicts, that the user is under 18. The company said ads will also not be eligible to appear near sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health or politics.
They added: “You need to know that your data and conversations are protected and never sold to advertisers.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has previously voiced reservations about introducing advertising to ChatGPT. The shift comes as OpenAI looks to expand its revenue base from an estimated eight hundred million monthly users to support the roughly one point four trillion dollars it has committed to AI infrastructure over the next eight years.
Last year, OpenAI introduced Instant Checkout, a feature that allows users to purchase products from retailers, including Walmart and Etsy, directly within ChatGPT.
