ChatGPT to carry adverts for some users

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Adverts will soon appear at the top of the AI tool ChatGPT for some users, the company OpenAI has announced.

The trial will initially take place in the US, and will affect some ChatGPT users on the free service and a new subscription tier, called ChatGPT Go.

This cheaper option will be available for all users worldwide, and will cost s responses and the firm will not share data about conversations with advertisers.

It said it had decided to explore ads "so more people can benefit from our tools with fewer usage limits".

However there is also growing speculation that the AI sector has been over-valued by keen investors and hype, and has yet to actually demonstrate much in the way of profit.

Some analysts predict this "bubble" is unsustainable and could soon burst.

Henry Ajder, an expert in AI, Deepfakes and synthetic media, said OpenAI's decision to explore ad revenue was not a surprise.

"OpenAI is a company that's seen a huge amount of growth in terms of users in the last few years but it continues to burn investor money – it is not a profit making entity," he said.

Outsourcing IT services.chatgpt carry adverts

"And so, for this company to start actually turning a profit, it has to find more revenue sources from somewhere other than just standard paying subscribers. And for many software businesses, advertising is a revenue source which is reliable."

OpenAIAdverts will be trialled in the US for free users and users of the new tier, ChatGPT Go

The Financial Times reported that in 2025 OpenAI operated at a loss of around s 800 million users are paid subscribers.

In addition to the new Go subscription tier, it already has Plus and Pro tiers, which cost t the only AI firm considering this business model, despite boss Sam Altman once saying he hated ads and describing them as "a last resort".

In 2025, AI firm Perplexity appointed Taz Patel in the role of "head of advertising and shopping", but he left the company nine months later.

Google denies reports that it had approached advertisers about bringing ads to its Gemini AI tool in 2026.

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Original aticle here: BBC