For years, ChatGPT It has functioned as one of the most accessible gateways to artificial intelligence, an assistant that many people use daily without a subscription. That model, which helped popularize generative AI at a speed that is difficult to match from the end of 2022is now beginning to show its limits. Maintaining that promise of mass access has an increasing cost, and OpenAI has decided to explore an avenue that had been on the table for some time: will start testing ads in the chatbota movement that puts back on the table how the AI we use every day is financed.
ChatGPT is about to change. OpenAI says that ads will only be shown on the free and Go plans, while users of ProBusiness and Enterprise will be left out. The decision introduces a clear separation between plans aimed at the general public and those designed for professional or business use. As we can see, in this pilot, advertising is associated with the cheapest access levels, while higher subscriptions maintain an ad-free experience.
This is what ChatGPT ads will look like
Where the advertising will appear. There are also details on how advertising will be integrated into the user experience. In this first phase, ads will appear at the end of ChatGPT responses when there is a sponsored product or service related to the ongoing conversation, always separated from organic content and, as the company promises, clearly labeled. Therefore, we should be able to know why we are seeing that specific ad and we will have the option to hide it.
What about conversations. Along with the announcement of this test, OpenAI wanted to establish in writing the principles that, according to the company, will guide its advertising approach. It insists that ads will not influence ChatGPT responses, which will continue to be optimized based on what is most useful to the user, and emphasizes that conversations will not be shared or sold to advertisers. It also promises control: we can disable personalization and delete data used for ads.
For adult users only. Not all users or all conversations are included in this test. The firm points out that the ads will only be shown to adults who are logged in, and that both accounts in which the user indicates, or the system estimates, that he or she is under 18 years of age, as well as content linked to sensitive areas, will be excluded. Health, mental health and politics are among the topics prohibited from appearing in advertisements.
Someone has to pay for AI. Generative AI has become an extremely expensive technology to operate, while, as is often the case with services with a massive free plan, converting those users into subscribers is not easy, even with cheaper paid plans. OpenAI earns revenue from subscriptions and its API for developers, and in that context testing ads fits as one of the ways the company puts on the table to expand revenue without closing access.
The financial hole. The economic context is best understood by looking at the numbers published at the end of 2025. According to financial documents seen by The Wall Street JournalOpenAI assumes that it will continue to accumulate very high losses for several years before achieving significant profits towards the end of the decade. The projection for 2028 is even more demanding, with operating losses that would reach $74 billion, driven mainly by the cost of computing.
The competition is getting fiercerz. Added to this financial pressure is a competitive context much more demanding than that of ChatGPT’s first months. OpenAI’s initial leadership is no longer as undisputed as in 2022 and 2023, with rivals such as Google with Gemini and Anthropic with Claude reinforcing its offer and gaining presence. Staying ahead requires constant investment, not only in research, but also in infrastructure and operational capacity.
The announcement does not close the debate, it opens it. OpenAI insists that this is a limited test with no long-term commitments, but the simple fact of introducing advertising sets a precedent. It remains to be seen if this model is limited to the United States or if it ends up spreading to other markets, and how users react to this change. Ultimately, the question is broader and affects the entire industry: who pays the real cost of artificial intelligence that aspires to be in the hands of everyone.
Images | OpenAI
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