Breaking News: OpenAI says ChatGPT ads are coming
OpenAI has announced that it will start to test ads within their ChatGPT interface. These ads however will not be influenced by advertisers, but instead by user conversations with the option for a user to opt-out of this personalization. They say the ads will be clearly labeled “sponsored” and that conversations will still be kept private, with data not sold to advertisers.
As ads roll out, OpenAI also says they may incorporate a feature where users can ask ChatGPT questions about the ad to help with purchase decisions. They do promise however that there will always be an ad-free version available.
OpenAI also says ads won’t be shown near sensitive topics, which includes politics, health, or mental health. Policies can always evolve, but as of now this means ads will only show on commercial and non-sensitive content.
Since the ads are influenced by user conversations, ChatGPT ads may operate more similarly to paid search advertising – where an ad shows only when a user runs a related query and the relevance of the ad matters. With how many other LLMs are competing for subscribers, OpenAI will want to make sure that the ad experience doesn’t turn off users and drive them to competitors. This means that any advertiser will need to make sure their ads are high-quality and relevant, something that is already important in the paid search space.
