ChatGPT: Ads in France Late August, Subscriptions Saved

OpenAI plans to activate ads in ChatGPT in France at the end of August, initially for free offerings. Paid subscriptions will remain ad-free, and in Europe, targeting will not be personalized at launch, with personalization subject to consent later on. For advertisers, the Ads Manager is not yet available in France, and the European privacy policy needs to be updated.

Ads Manager Not Yet Open in France, Targeting Text Not Published

Since its launch in May, OpenAI's Ads Manager has only been available in Australia, Canada, South Korea, the United States, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. France is not among these countries, and no details have been provided regarding the expected date for its arrival. Thus, French users should see ads appear before French companies have the opportunity to purchase them directly in a self-service manner. OpenAI has also indicated that an upcoming update to the European privacy policy will include advertising. The document currently online, dated June 4, does not mention this, and the text regarding targeting is not yet public. For the European Economic Area and Switzerland, OpenAI Ireland Limited remains the data controller, with the Irish Data Protection Commission as the lead authority. Users can also contact their national authority, such as the CNIL in France, if they believe their rights are not being respected.

Ads Expected on Free and Go, Subscriptions Exempt

In an email sent on August 15, OpenAI stated that ads could appear "later this month" on the Free and Go offerings. The Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans will remain ad-free. OpenAI thus anticipates the arrival of ads in France by the end of August. Two options are offered to users who wish to avoid ads: subscribe to a paid plan (Plus or Pro) or activate an ad-free mode while remaining on the free offering. The latter option involves stricter message limits and reduced access to certain tools, including image generation.

Sponsored Box Below the Response, No Access to Chat Data

The ad format will be the same as in other markets: a sponsored box, distinct from the generated text, will appear below a response from the assistant. OpenAI specifies that advertisers will have no access to discussions, history, or personal data, and will only receive aggregated data on impressions and clicks. In Europe, the launch will occur without personalization: the choice of ads will rely on the topic discussed and a few limited contextual elements, such as approximate geographic area and device category used. OpenAI states that it does not use previous exchanges or memory to determine which ads to display. Personalization may occur later, after prior consent and can be controlled in the settings. In already opened markets, personalization uses history and memory unless disabled by the user.

Deployment: Testing from February 9 to Announced European Opening

The advertising experiment for ChatGPT began on February 9 in the United States before being extended to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. On August 11, five additional markets, including the United Kingdom, were added. The next announced step concerns the European Economic Area and Switzerland.