OpenAI begins selling ChatGPT ads, sources say

OpenAI has begun offering chatbot ads to a limited group of advertisers, according to a report from The Information.

The company is requesting less than US$1 million in commitments from these advertisers for a trial period expected to start in early February.

The ads will be charged based on views rather than clicks.

OpenAI has not yet made its self-service ad platform available to the public.

The move marks a shift from the company’s previous reliance on subscription revenue and comes as it seeks new ways to fund its AI development costs.

OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The new ad unit’s format and placement need to be confirmed. Ads are slated to appear separately at the bottom of responses for logged-in adult users in the U.S. on the free tier and ChatGPT Go, yet labeling rules and the meaning of “ad views” for pricing still need to be clarified 1.
The signals used for contextual targeting should be explained in plain terms. Ads are intended to follow the current conversation, and conversations are meant to be kept private from advertisers, but the matching method and its privacy safeguards still need more detail 1.
Advertiser controls and brand safety policies must be spelled out. Ads are meant to be blocked for users under 18 and from sensitive topics including health and politics, while options like frequency capping or topic exclusions remain unclear 1.

Adtech vendors and investors can move fast on third-party verification. OpenAI still lacks a self-serve buying tool and is building one. It has offered trial buys to dozens of advertisers with commitments under $1 million each [News Article]. No integration has been mentioned with DoubleVerify or Integral Ad Science (IAS) (companies that independently measure ad viewability and brand safety) [News Article]. DoubleVerify’s early role in Netflix’s ad tier hints at demand for similar viewability and brand safety checks here 1.
Agencies and tool builders can help fill reporting and controls gaps. OpenAI says ads will track the current conversation, users can opt out of ad personalisation, conversations will not be sold to advertisers, and ads will not affect the AI’s answers. Available details do not confirm whether reporting will be limited to aggregate data (combined, non-user-specific reporting) 1.