Altman said India has the largest number of ChatGPT student users globally. Across universities and schools, AI tools are increasingly being used to assist with writing, coding, research and exam preparation.(Express Photo)
OpenAI has announced that it will begin displaying ads alongside responses in ChatGPT “in the coming weeks.” The Sam Altman-led company said the ads will initially be shown to adult users in the US who are on the free tier and the low-cost Go subscription of the AI chatbot.
In a blog post, OpenAI said the ads will not “influence the answers ChatGPT gives you” and will always be clearly labelled as “sponsored,” keeping them distinct from AI-generated responses. Although the ads are not live yet, the company said they will appear at the bottom of replies when there is a relevant sponsored product or service based on the ongoing conversation.
For example, ChatGPT users may see a sponsored ad for a beauty product when they are searching for mascara recommendations.
OpenAI also stressed that ads will not affect ChatGPT’s outputs and that user conversations will not be shared with advertisers. The company said it will also give users the option to disable personalised ads and clear data used to generate sponsored replies.
Here’s how ads would appear in ChatGPT. (Image Source: OpenAI)
During the testing period, ads won’t be visible in accounts where the user is below 18 years of age and won’t make their way in conversations where the user is talking about sensitive or regulated topics like health, mental health and politics. However, those on the more expensive Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise tiers of ChatGPT won’t see any ads.
The cash-burning AI startup, which plans to invest $1 trillion in AI infrastructure by 2030, may be seeking to unlock a major new revenue stream by monetising its vast base of around 800 million users. However, the move could upset some customers and force them to switch to alternatives like Gemini and Claude.
In a 2024 interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had said that he hates ads and called the idea of showing ads in AI chatbots “uniquely unsettling”. However, Altman did add that he wasn’t “totally against” bringing ads to ChatGPT. OpenAI’s entry in the digital advertising business may also shake up the business, which is currently dominated by Amazon, Google and Meta.
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Altman said India has the largest number of ChatGPT student users globally. Across universities and schools, AI tools are increasingly being used to assist with writing, coding, research and exam preparation.(Express Photo) 
