OpenAI is adding visual display ads to ChatGPT, placing them alongside the images users ask the chatbot to generate. According to TechCrunch, the ads will begin appearing later this month in the United States only, with an initial test group of advertisers.
The company says the ads will be clearly labeled and will not influence the responses ChatGPT produces. The move extends an ad business OpenAI introduced earlier this year to support its free and low-cost subscription tiers, and later expanded to India in August.
What the ChatGPT visual ads include
Alongside the display ads, OpenAI is widening its measurement tools and partner ecosystem. TechCrunch reports the company now works with click attribution partners including AppsFlyer, Adjust, Branch, Singular, Kochava, Airbridge and Tenjin, plus advanced measurement partners such as Fospha, Measured and INCRMNTAL.
OpenAI has also partnered with Haus, Measured and WorkMagic on geo-based ad experiments, and is developing brand suitability evaluation pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science. Together, these efforts aim to make ChatGPT a workable ad-supported business for users on free and low-cost plans.
Why OpenAI is pushing ads now
The timing follows the launch of Meta's Muse, an agentic AI app that is free to everyone and is seen as a growing competitor to leading chatbots like ChatGPT. Visual ads also appeal to online advertisers who want to tell brand stories through imagery rather than text alone.
According to TechCrunch, the plan is eventually to let advertisers target ChatGPT's 1.2 billion weekly users once the format rolls out globally. The report also notes that integrating ads could disrupt the user experience, and that the friction may partly be intentional, pushing more casual users toward a paid subscription to avoid them.
