OpenAI to test ads in ChatGPT: Who will see them, where they appear, more

Ads in ChatGPT are currently being tested only for free and Go-tier users in the US. OpenAI said that ads will stay out of sensitive chats, and won't change how ChatGPT answers questions

OpenAI has confirmed that it will begin testing ads inside ChatGPT in the coming weeks. The company said the test will roll out gradually and will not affect users on Plus, Pro, Business, or Enterprise subscriptions, which will remain ad-free. The only users seeing ads will be free users and Go plan subscribers, which has also been expanded to around 170 countries. Ads in ChatGPT will be initially tested only in the US, and may later expand to more regions.

 

The company has also outlined how ads will appear, who will see them, and what safeguards will be in place around privacy and content.

Who will see ads in ChatGPT

According to OpenAI, ads will initially be tested only for:

• Logged-in adult users in the US
• Users on the Free and Go plans

Users on Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise tiers will not see ads.

 

OpenAI also said ads will not appear in accounts where the user has said they are under 18, or where the system predicts the user may be under 18.

 

Ads will also be blocked from appearing in conversations that involve sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health, or politics. 

How ads will appear

During the test phase, ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT responses when there is a relevant sponsored product or service related to the user’s current conversation.

 

OpenAI said:

• Ads will be clearly labelled
• Ads will be visually separated from the main answer
• Users will be able to dismiss ads and give feedback on why they don’t want to see them
• Users will be able to check why a particular ad is being shown

The company said it is starting with simple formats and may experiment with more interactive formats later, where users can ask questions about an ad directly inside ChatGPT.

Will ads affect ChatGPT’s answers?

OpenAI said ads will not influence how ChatGPT answers questions.

 

The company stated that:

• ChatGPT answers are based only on what is most useful to the user
• Ads are handled separately from the answer system
• Sponsored content will not change or shape the main response

OpenAI described this as “answer independence” — meaning advertising systems and response systems will not be connected in a way that changes what ChatGPT says.  ALSO READ | OpenAI introduces Google Translate-like ChatGPT Translate: How it works

Privacy and data use

OpenAI said user conversations will not be shared with advertisers and will not be sold.

 

According to the company:

• Advertisers will not get access to ChatGPT chats
• Ads will not be targeted using full conversation history
• Users can turn off ad personalisation
• Users can clear the data used for ad personalisation at any time

ChatGPT Go subscription expands

Alongside the ad announcement, OpenAI said it has expanded its lower-cost ChatGPT Go subscription to more regions. Already available in India since August 2025, ChatGPT Go is now rolling out everywhere ChatGPT is available.

 

With a ChatGPT Go subscription, users get:

• Around 10x higher limits on messages, file uploads, and image creation compared to the free tier
• A longer memory and context window for conversations

It should be noted that ChatGPT Go is the only paid tier on which OpenAI plans to test ads.