OpenAI confirmed it will begin testing ads across all free and Go tier ChatGPT accounts in the United States "in the coming weeks," according to a company spokesperson statement to Reuters and a simultaneous post on the OpenAI blog.

What's Changing

Until now, ads appeared only in a limited pilot. The expansion means every US user on the free tier — as well as subscribers to the $8/month Go plan — will start seeing ads. Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users are exempt.

Criteo, a France-based ad technology firm, was named as the first partner integrated into the pilot, providing ad-buying and targeting infrastructure across both tiers.

OpenAI's Four Principles

In its official post, OpenAI laid out the rules it says will govern how ads work:

  • Answer independence: Ads will never influence ChatGPT's responses. Answers are optimized for usefulness, not advertisers.
  • Conversation privacy: User conversations will not be sold to advertisers or shared with ad buyers.
  • Choice and control: Users can turn off personalization and clear ad-related data at any time.
  • Mission alignment: Revenue from ads is framed as funding broader AI access, not just growth.

Why It Matters

Running large language models is expensive. OpenAI's move mirrors the arc of every major internet platform — search engines, social networks, email — that eventually turned to advertising to subsidize free access.

The difference here is the stakes: users ask ChatGPT highly personal questions. How well OpenAI holds the line between advertising revenue and response integrity will be closely watched.