OpenAI is reportedly getting ready to test ads in ChatGPT

Multiple reports suggest that OpenAI is going ahead with its plans to add ads to ChatGPT, but the experiment will be initially limited to its employees.

Journalist Alex Heath reports that OpenAI CEO of Applications Fidji Simo recently told employees that OpenAI is mulling ads in an internal version of ChatGPT.

This means OpenAI will begin testing ads in ChatGPT with employees, but we don't know when ads will roll out to consumers.

It's also not clear if OpenAI will hide ads if you pay for one of the paid subscriptions, such as Go, Plus, and Pro.

If I were to make a guess, I don't think OpenAI would show ads on Plus and Pro plans, but Go might have limited ads later, given how cheap the subscription is (less than $5 and free in some markets).

ChatGPT ads will allegedly prioritize sponsored content

Over the holidays, The Information reported that OpenAI is indeed considering different types of ads, including prioritizing sponsored content in AI answers.

"AI models could prioritize sponsored content to ensure it shows up in ChatGPT responses," the report noted.

"In recent weeks, ad mockups have included displaying sponsored information in a sidebar next to the main ChatGPT response window, according to the person who has seen them."

Later, OpenAI also confirmed that the company is exploring "ads," and it had nothing more to share.

"As ChatGPT becomes more capable and widely used, we're looking at ways to continue offering more intelligence to everyone. As part of this, we're exploring what ads in our product could look like. People have a trusted relationship with ChatGPT, and any approach would be designed to respect that trust," an OpenAI spokesperson told The Information.

OpenAI has data that could be used to deliver personalized ads, but is it really going to work? Perplexity hasn't had much luck with ads yet.

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Posted Thursday 8 January 2026 at 4:54 am AEST (my time).

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