OpenAI is finally ready to see if its users will trade their screen real estate for a free chat

The AI giant announced Friday that it will begin testing ads within the Free and Go tiers of ChatGPT in the “coming weeks,” marking a watershed moment for the world’s most popular AI chatbot as it adopts a traditional monetization approach.

Ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service tied to the ongoing conversation, the company said in a blog post.

The company said that ads will be “clearly labeled and separated from the organic answer,” and won’t appear for users under 18 or near “sensitive or regulated” topics such as health, mental health or politics. ChatGPT on the Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans will remain ad‑free.

In one example, OpenAI said people might see a sponsored ad and be able to ask follow‑up questions directly in ChatGPT to make a purchase decision—like getting a recommended brand of ingredients while asking the chatbot for a recipe.

“Given what AI can do, we’re excited to develop new experiences over time that people find more helpful and relevant than any other ads,” the blog reads. “Conversational interfaces create possibilities for people to go beyond static messages and links. For example, soon you might see an ad and be able to directly ask the questions you need to make a purchase decision.”

The move signals a new phase for consumer AI. ChatGPT has more than 800 million weekly active users, CEO Sam Altman said in October, and the company has been reportedly testing and considering ads as a monetization strategy for some time, though it has thus far only had limited commercial strategies beyond subscriptions and enterprise deals. Last month, Altman sent a memo to staff calling for a “code red” as it lost ground to competitors including Google and Anthropic, the Wall Street Journal reported. ADWEEK has reported on early signs of ads and ad features appearing across OpenAI’s products.

The company had expanded its marketing infrastructure since hiring Fidji Simo as CEO of applications last year. Simo, the former CEO of Instacart, spent part of last year recruiting for an ads and monetization team for ChatGPT, according to reporter Alex Heath’s Sources newsletter. The company also recruited engineers to develop internal tools for ad‑platform integration, campaign management, and real‑time attribution as part of a newly formed ChatGPT Growth team, as ADWEEK previously reported.

Advertisers are likely to test how well they can reach users in a conversational environment. But OpenAI faces a delicate balance—people sharing personal details in ChatGPT are used to an ad‑free experience, and the company is tasked with maintaining trust while experimenting with monetization.

In the post, OpenAI said ads would not influence ChatGPT responses, that conversations would remain private from advertisers, and that ad placements would always be separate from core content.

OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.