On January 16, 2026, I reacted to @OpenAI’s announcement about planned advertising in ChatGPT by writing, “ChatGPT ads are gonna go crazy.” That was my opinion, not a report of test results.
@OpenAI said it planned to start testing ads in ChatGPT’s free and Go tiers “in the coming weeks.” The announcement gave no specific start date, test duration, or criteria for expanding ads beyond those tiers.
- @OpenAI described its approach as guided by user trust and transparency, while aiming to make AI accessible to everyone. Its stated principles were that ads would not influence ChatGPT responses, would be separate and clearly labeled, and would not give advertisers access to conversations. It said Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise tiers would not have ads.
Related: big brands adopting ai ads, openai s expanding empire, selling through ai chat