Jan 19, 2026
3 min read
OpenAI will test advertising for users of free versions and Go services, which will be free starting at $20 per month.
ChatGPT will include announcements "in the coming weeks" and announce a new payment plan
OpenAI will test ads to users of the free and paid version of Go, which is ad-free and starts at $20 per month.
"No one can promise 100% in the future, but the current idea is not to make ChatGupt a platform full of ads," ChatGupt says when asked if it will have ads, contradicting the news that the company responsible for the chatbot has given: Yes, it will have ads.
OpenAI said it on its website, albeit somewhat convolutedly: “Our Approach to Ads” is the title of the memo, which explains that the idea is to start advertising to free users in the “next few weeks.”It will start in the US and then “expand globally,” but no dates were given.
Ads will appear for registered users of the free version of ChatGPT, as well as its Go tier, which was also announced on Friday and costs $8 in the United States and €9.99 per month in Spain.The Go tier allows users to send more messages and create more images than the free version, but the basic tier will include advertising.OpenAI guarantees that its Plus ($20 per month, but €23) and Pro (200, but €229) subscribers will not see any advertising.
The company has ensured that advertisements do not affect ChatGPT responses and that they all appear in separate and "clearly marked" boxes directly below the chatbot response.For example, if a user asks ChatGPT for help planning a trip to New York, they'll still get a standard response, but they might also see an ad for a local hotel.
"People rely on ChatGPT for many important and personal tasks, so when we introduce ads, it's critical that we preserve what makes ChatGPT valuable in the first place," wrote Fidji Simo, CEO of OpenAI Applications, in a blog post announcing the ads."This means you have to trust that ChatGPT answers are objectively useful, not ads."
User privacy
It is not clear how this new model will work.On the same note, OpenAI assures advertisers that it "does not sell user data or disclose conversations with ChatGPT."This, he says, means customers won't be able to see information about a user's age, location or interests."We keep your conversations with ChatGPT private to advertisers and will never sell your information to them," the note said.paid ad-free level."
An OpenAI representative told Wired that the company will allow advertisers to see aggregated ad performance metrics, such as how many times an ad was shown on ChatGPT or how many users clicked on it.
To determine which ads to show, OpenAI says it will match conversation topics with relevant ads.Some of the user's personal data may be used in the process, the spokesperson said, but the company notes that "users can turn off data used for advertising without turning off some of ChatGPT's personalization features."The statement added: "You decide how your data is used. You can turn off privacy and delete data used for advertising at any time."
The spokesperson declined to say exactly what data OpenAI will collect from users to serve valuable ads, but ChatGPT already collects plenty of other data to improve the chatbot's responsiveness.Users can ask the AI to remember personal characteristics like interests, dietary restrictions, and other preferences to tailor responses, and OpenAI has expanded the product's memory feature in the past year to allow ChatGPT to remember past conversations in your responses.
OpenAI notes that there are circumstances in which ads should never appear on ChatGPT, such as conversations about sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health or politics.The company also states that it will not serve ads to users if it believes they are under 18, either because the user has indicated so or because an age prediction model the company plans to launch "soon" determined they were underage.
OpenAI plans to share more information "in the coming weeks" about how companies can advertise on ChatGPT.In his blog post, Simo suggests that the company is exploring more interactive advertising experiences on ChatGPT.
"Conversational interfaces create possibilities to go beyond standard messages and connections," Simo said."For example, you'll quickly see an ad and be able to directly ask the questions you need to make a buying decision."
The introduction of advertising on ChatGPT seemed inevitable for a long time.The chatbot has rapidly grown to become one of the largest consumer products on the Internet, with over 800 million weekly active users, most of whom don't pay a single euro.Big consumer internet platforms like Google started building large-scale advertising businesses when they reached this point.
And OpenAI needs revenue.The company is ten years old and has raised around $64 billion from investors without a solid business plan.Competition from competitors such as Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot has increased the pressure on OpenAI to gain a larger audience for ChatGPT.
However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has previously expressed reservations about introducing ads to ChatGPT, claiming in interviews that doing so undermines user trust and calling them a "last resort."
"We will learn from feedback and adjust how ads are displayed over time, but our commitment to deliver first users and maintain trust will not change," OpenAI said in the note.
Your subscription is being used on another device
Do you want to add another user to your subscription?
If you continue to read on this device, it will not be read on another device.
Your arrow signature is used on another device and you can only access EL PAÍS from one device at a time.
If you want to share your account, change your subscription to premium mode so you can add another user.Each person will be connected to their own email account, allowing you to personalize your experience at EL PAÍS.
Do you have a business subscription?Go here to sign up for more accounts.
If you don't know who is using your account, we recommend changing your password here.
If you choose to continue sharing your account, this message will appear on your device and on the devices of other people who use your account indefinitely, affecting your readership.You can consult the digital marketing terms here.
