zoe kleinmantechnology editor
The company OpenAI has announced that ads will soon appear on top of the AI tool ChatGPT for some users.
The test will initially take place in the US, and will impact some ChatGPT users on the free service and a new subscription tier called ChatGPT Go.
This cheaper option will be available to all users around the world, and will cost $8 per month, or its equivalent price in other currencies.
OpenAI says that during testing, relevant ads will appear after a prompt – for example, asking ChatGPT about places to visit in Mexico may show vacation ads.
In the example screenshots shared by the firm, the ads look like banners.
OpenAI says they will not influence ChatGPT’s responses and that the company will not share data about interactions with advertisers.
It said it had decided to remove ads “so that more people can benefit from our tools with lower usage limits”.
However there is also growing speculation that the AI field has been overhyped by eager investors and hype, and has yet to actually demonstrate much in terms of benefits.
Some analysts predict that this “bubble” is not sustainable and may soon burst.
Henry Ajder, an expert on AI, deepfakes and synthetic media, said OpenAI’s decision to track advertising revenue was not a surprise.
“OpenAI is a company that has seen huge growth in terms of users over the last few years, but it is wasting investors’ money – it is not a profit-making entity,” he said.
“And so, for this company to really start making a profit, it has to find more revenue sources from somewhere other than just standard paying customers. And for many software businesses, advertising is a revenue source that is reliable.”
The Financial Times reported that OpenAI in 2025 incurred losses of almost $8bn (£5.98bn) in the first six months of the year, and that only 5% of ChatGPT’s 800 million users are paid customers.
In addition to the new Go subscription tier, it already has Plus and Pro tiers, which cost $20 and $200 per month respectively in the US.
ChatGPIT Go was first introduced in India in 2025 before expanding to other countries.
OpenAI was originally founded as a non-profit organization, but has increasingly turned toward more commercial operations.
For more than two decades the Internet economy has been largely funded by advertising.
OpenAI isn’t the only AI firm considering this business model, with boss Sam Altman once saying he hated ads and describing them as a “last resort”.
In 2025, AI firm Perplexity hired Taz Patel to the role of “head of advertising and buying”, but he left the company after nine months.
Google has denied reports that it had approached advertisers about bringing ads to its Gemini AI tool in 2026.
