ChatGPT's free ride is ending: Here's what OpenAI plans for advertising
on the chatbot
[January 17, 2026] By
MATT O'BRIEN
OpenAI says it will soon start showing advertisements to ChatGPT users
who aren't paying for a premium version of the chatbot.
The artificial intelligence company said Friday it hasn't yet rolled out
ads but will start testing them in the coming weeks.
It's the latest effort by the San Francisco-based company to make money
from ChatGPT's more than 800 million users, most of whom get it for
free.
Though valued at $500 billion, the startup loses more money than it
makes and has been looking for ways to turn a profit.
“Most importantly: ads will not influence the answers ChatGPT gives
you,” said Fidji Simo, the company’s CEO of applications, in a social
media post Friday.
OpenAI said the digital ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT's
answers “when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on
your current conversation.”
The ads “will be clearly labeled and separated from the organic answer,”
the company said.
Two of OpenAI’s rivals, Google and Meta, have dominated digital
advertising for years and already incorporate ads into some of their AI
features.
Originally founded as a nonprofit with a mission to safely build
better-than-human AI, OpenAI last year reorganized its ownership
structure and converted its business into a public benefit corporation.
It said Friday that its pursuit of advertising will be “always in
support” of its original mission to ensure its AI technology benefits
humanity.
But introducing personalized ads starts OpenAI “down a risky path”
previously taken by social media companies, said Miranda Bogen of the
Center for Democracy and Technology.
[to top of second column] |
The OpenAI logo is displayed on a mobile phone in front of a
computer screen with output from ChatGPT, March 21, 2023, in Boston.
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
 “People are using chatbots for all
sorts of reasons, including as companions and advisors," said Bogen,
director of CDT’s AI Governance Lab. “There’s a lot at stake when
that tool tries to exploit users’ trust to hawk advertisers’ goods.”
OpenAI makes some money from paid subscriptions but needs more
revenue to pay for its more than $1 trillion in financial
obligations for the computer chips and data centers that power its
AI services. The risk that OpenAI won’t make enough money to fulfill
the expectations of backers like Oracle and Nvidia has amplified
investor concerns about an AI bubble.
“It is clear to us that a lot of people want to use a lot of AI and
don’t want to pay, so we are hopeful a business model like this can
work,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a post Friday on social
platform X. He added that he likes the ads on Meta's Instagram
because they show him things he wouldn't have found otherwise.
OpenAI claims it won't use a user's personal information or prompts
to collect data for ads, but the question is “for how long,” said
Paddy Harrington, an analyst at research group Forrester.
“Free services are never actually free and these public AI platforms
need to generate revenue,” Harrington said. “Which leads to the
adage: If the service is free, you’re the product.”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
