OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Ads in Five New Countries

OpenAI launches ads in ChatGPT in the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea. The company claims to ensure a separation between ads and responses, maintain privacy, and offer user controls. Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education plans remain ad-free, while initial feedback from the pilot is deemed encouraging by OpenAI.

OpenAI details the separation of ads, privacy, and user controls

OpenAI specifies that each advertisement is clearly marked as sponsored and visually separated from the response generated by ChatGPT. The company asserts that advertisers do not have access to discussions, history, memories, or personal information, and only receive aggregated data such as the number of views or clicks. Users can dismiss an ad, provide feedback, understand why it is shown to them, delete their ad data with one click, and manage personalization at any time. OpenAI states that it maintains a strict separation between ads and responses and keeps private data secure. The company also claims that ads do not influence ChatGPT's responses and that conversations remain private from advertisers. To avoid seeing ads, users can switch to Plus or Pro plans or choose to have no ads in the Free plan in exchange for a reduced daily quota of free messages.

Limited exposure: connected adults on Free and Go, no ads on pro plans

The test began in the United States on February 9 and targets connected adult users on Free and Go tiers. OpenAI clarifies that Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education subscriptions do not include ads. The company indicates that it optimizes responses for usefulness and aims for ads to support broader access to more powerful features without undermining trust. OpenAI reminds that ChatGPT is used by hundreds of millions of people and that maintaining fast, reliable free and affordable levels requires ongoing infrastructure and investment. According to OpenAI, ads contribute to funding this effort and help improve intelligence and capabilities over time. The group states it is starting with a test to learn and adjust the experience.

Initial indicators: no reported impact on trust and low rejection rates

OpenAI reports encouraging early results from its pilot: the company sees no impact on consumer trust indicators and observes low ad rejection rates. It also notes continuous improvements in relevance, fueled by user feedback. These positive signals support, according to OpenAI, the transition to a new phase of the pilot. Before any expansion, OpenAI says it will pay close attention to feedback to ensure that ads appear useful and integrate naturally into the use of ChatGPT. The company adds that it will continue to adjust relevance based on initial performance and feedback.

International deployment and prospects for advertisers

After launching the test in the United States, OpenAI plans to initiate pilots in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand by the end of March, with a market-by-market rollout based on real usage learning and ongoing adjustments, aiming to expand experimentation to many other countries throughout the year. In early May, OpenAI announced its intention to expand the pilot to the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea to test what works regionally. On August 11, ads in ChatGPT were officially launched in these five countries, and OpenAI plans to continue expanding throughout the year. For businesses, OpenAI is beginning to explore ways to participate in the experience and plans to evolve its program to incorporate new formats, objectives, and purchasing models, as well as create new modes of interaction with consumers in ChatGPT. Interested companies can sign up for updates on the dedicated page. OpenAI presents the entire test as a learning endeavor.