Updated 10 February 2026 at 10:45 IST
ChatGPT Begins Testing Ads: Free Users to See Sponsored Links While Paid Plans Remain Ad-Free
OpenAI has confirmed plans to roll out advertisements inside ChatGPT, moving from earlier reports to an official launch. Ads will appear for Free and Go plan users in the U.S., while higher-tier subscribers remain ad-free, marking a major shift in how the AI service is funded.
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that OpenAI was preparing to test advertisements inside ChatGPT as part of a broader effort to diversify revenue beyond subscriptions. That plan is now taking shape. The company has confirmed that ads will begin appearing in conversations in the United States over the coming weeks, marking a major shift in how the AI service is funded.
The advertising trials will be limited to users on ChatGPT’s Free tier and the lower-priced Go plan ($8/month). Subscribers on higher tiers including Plus ($20/month), Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education will remain ad-free. Free users will have the option to opt out of ads, but only by accepting fewer daily messages. Ads will be shown only to logged-in adults, with minors excluded from the rollout.
OpenAI says ads will be clearly labelled as “sponsored” and placed separately from ChatGPT’s answers. They will be context-driven, surfacing based on conversation topics and prior interactions. For example, a chat about recipes might trigger promotions for meal kits or grocery delivery. Sensitive areas such as health, mental health, and politics are off-limits. Advertisers will receive only aggregate engagement data, like views and s, without access to chat histories or personal information. Users will also be able to dismiss ads, disable personalization, and delete ad-related data.
The company has been candid about the financial motivation. Running ChatGPT at scale is expensive, and the free and Go tiers require “significant infrastructure and ongoing investment.” Ads are intended to offset those costs while keeping a free option available. OpenAI describes this rollout as a test designed to “learn, listen, and get the ad experience right.”
This rollout represents one of the most consequential changes to ChatGPT’s user experience since its launch. Free users now face a choice: tolerate ads or pay for an ad-free tier. OpenAI believes ads can be “uniquely valuable,” while rivals are betting that users will prefer an uncluttered, ad-free alternative. The development underscores a broader challenge in tech: balancing monetisation with user trust, a tension that has played out before with platforms like Netflix and Spotify when they introduced ads or tiered pricing.
Published By : Priya Pathak
Published On: 10 February 2026 at 10:45 IST