OpenAI casts ChatGPT advertising as a way to preserve broad access to AI while giving businesses a place in users’ decision-making. Its commercial challenge is more immediate: prove that ads can become a durable revenue engine without undermining trust in the chatbot.

OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT’s US service in February, entering a digital-ad market long dominated by Google and Meta. The move was contentious from the outset: rival Anthropic mocked the strategy in its first Super Bowl campaign, while OpenAI faced pressure to substantiate an $852 billion valuation ahead of an expected IPO.¹

Less than 200 days later, OpenAI said Monday that ChatGPT Ads had reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate. The company says tens of thousands of advertisers now use the platform, which sits alongside subscriptions, enterprise products and usage-based APIs in a “diversified business model.”²

The rollout is now moving beyond an early managed-sales model. Ads are available in more than 40 countries, and OpenAI is opening self-service purchasing through Ads Manager across India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The company says smaller businesses have become a material part of the operation since Ads Manager launched in May.²

OpenAI’s pitch rests on intent: users come to ChatGPT to compare software, plan renovations or search for jobs, creating a setting where marketers can offer relevant information. But that logic sharpens the privacy and influence question. OpenAI says ads are clearly labeled, separate from answers and cannot sway what ChatGPT tells users; advertisers do not get private conversations, while users can control personalization.²

“Our next phase of growth will bring ChatGPT Ads to more markets and introduce additional formats, objectives, buying options, and measurement capabilities,” OpenAI said.¹ For a company approaching a potential market debut, the speed of that expansion may be as important as the headline billion-dollar run rate.