OpenAI first introduced ads to ChatGPT in February, placing a company name, logo and product link in a sponsored area beneath conversations. It later expanded the programme to India in August, framing advertising as support for its free and lower-cost tiers.¹

Later this month, that strategy will move into ChatGPT’s image-generation experience in the US. The company will test visual displays from an initial group of advertisers, showing sponsored products and services alongside images users ask the chatbot to create.²

OpenAI’s core assurance is separation: the ads will be clearly labelled, remain outside the generated image and “will not influence the answers ChatGPT provides.”¹ It also says ads will be withheld from conversations judged emotionally vulnerable, sensitive or otherwise unsuitable.²

For paying customers, the line is even sharper. ChatGPT Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscribers will not see the ads, creating an ad-free benefit for those willing to pay.² That may protect premium users, but it also puts the commercial burden squarely on the free experience — and could make subscriptions more attractive if visual interruptions become routine.

The ad test is part of a wider build-out rather than a one-off placement. OpenAI is expanding measurement tools, attribution partnerships and brand-suitability work, positioning ChatGPT as a more accountable advertising channel.¹ The prize is substantial: a global rollout could eventually give advertisers access to ChatGPT’s reported 1.2 billion weekly users.¹

For now, OpenAI is arguing that ads can sit beside AI creativity without steering it. The coming US test will show whether users view that distinction as meaningful — or simply see another part of ChatGPT becoming a billboard.