Artificial intelligence platform OpenAI has detailed its official strategy for introducing advertising into its ChatGPT platform as part of a broader effort to make advanced AI more accessible and sustainable.
The company said the move is intended to help scale global access to AI tools without compromising the core user experience that has made ChatGPT so widely adopted.
In a blog post published on January 16, OpenAI explained that it has already expanded access to its lower-cost subscription tier, ChatGPT Go, across 171 countries, offering features such as messaging, image creation, file uploads and memory at a nominal monthly fee.
The new advertising initiative will be tested in the United States on both the free and Go tiers in the coming weeks, while higher-tier subscriptions — including Pro, Business and Enterprise — will remain ad-free.
OpenAI emphasised that any ads will be clearly labeled and displayed separately from the AI’s responses so as not to influence the quality or objectivity of the conversational output.
According to the company, the introduction of advertising aims to support broader, more affordable access to AI services by generating additional revenue streams without selling user data or exposing private conversations to advertisers.
Users will also have control over how their data is used for personalization and can opt out if they choose.
The announcement stressed that preserving user trust is essential. OpenAI outlined principles intended to ensure that advertising aligns with its mission — to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity — and does not undermine the integrity of the ChatGPT experience.
Under the proposed test, ads will be shown only to adult users in appropriate contexts, and will not appear for sensitive subjects such as health or politics.
As OpenAI moves forward with ad testing, the company said it will collect user feedback to refine how ads appear and are experienced over time.