OpenAI is officially starting to test ads within ChatGPT, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to CNBC on condition of anonymity. The test is expected to begin today.
The company previously said ads will be clearly labeled, appear at the bottom of chatbot responses, and won’t influence how ChatGPT answers questions. OpenAI also expects advertising to make up less than half of its revenue over the long term, according to CNBC’s report.
If the test expands, it would mark a significant shift for OpenAI, which has so far relied primarily on subscriptions and enterprise partnerships to monetize ChatGPT.
Why This Matters:
ChatGPT is quickly becoming a new kind of discovery layer — one that looks less like search results and more like a conversation. Introducing ads into that environment could reshape how advertisers think about intent, context, and performance. (Oh, and it could be expensive, given the value.)
It also puts OpenAI on a collision course with the big digital ad incumbents. The ad market has long been dominated by Google and Meta, with Amazon emerging as a major and massive force thanks to its inventory, customer base, and data. A scaled ChatGPT ad product would give advertisers a new surface — and potentially a new competitor — in that mix.
Experts React:
Early industry reaction has focused less on whether ads are coming, and more on how they’ll be integrated. The placement at the bottom of responses suggests OpenAI is trying to avoid disrupting trust while still testing monetization.
The bigger unknown is measurement: how advertisers will evaluate performance in a conversational interface that doesn’t behave like search or social feeds.
Anyway, here are some interesting posts from X about the launch today:
Our Take:
This feels like a cautious first step rather than a full ad push. By keeping ads clearly labeled, separated from responses, and limited in revenue contribution, OpenAI is signaling it understands the trust risk.
That trust risk was exploited over the weekend, as Anthropic’s entire Super Bowl ad push focused on poking fun at the idea that OpenAI would ever feature ads in ChatGPT.
In response, OpenAI’s CMO is smartly emphasizing the need to ensure ChatGPT remains free and accessible to everyone. Narratively, making ads synonymous with access and altruism is one of the stronger messaging attempts we’ve seen in years defending ads. (Finally!)
