OpenAI to test picture ads in ChatGPT, starting with image generation
OpenAI says it will start testing visual ads in ChatGPT in the U.S. later this month, first showing them while users generate images. The company says the ads will be clearly labeled, kept separate from users' images, and won't affect ChatGPT's answers.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
OpenAI said the ads will show products in use, product ideas, or the experiences they make possible. It said they will be clearly labeled and kept separate from the image a user is creating. "Advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides," the company wrote. OpenAI said ChatGPT now reaches 1.2 billion people each week.
Why it matters
Ads are becoming a bigger part of how OpenAI pays for free ChatGPT use. Picture ads could make the app feel more like a shopping tool, and they test whether users will accept that.
What’s next
Testing starts in the U.S. later in October. OpenAI said it plans to try more ad formats in the future.
More context
ChatGPT ads are about to get pictures. OpenAI said Monday it will test a new visual ad format in the U.S. later this month with an initial group of advertisers. The ads will first appear while people generate images in ChatGPT.
Who sees them: OpenAI began selling ads in ChatGPT in February. Until now they showed a company name, logo and link in a "sponsored" section below the chat, The Verge reported. Ads don't appear for Plus, Pro or Enterprise subscribers, The Verge said. The Next Web reported they run for free and Go users.
Safeguards: OpenAI said its guardrails check whether a conversation is suitable before an ad appears. The goal is to keep ads out of "emotionally vulnerable, sensitive, or otherwise unsuitable" chats. Ad-checking firms DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science will run pilots to test those rules without seeing real user conversations, OpenAI said.
Europe: ChatGPT ads have run in 31 European countries since late August, The Next Web reported. On Aug. 31 the European Commission named ChatGPT a "very large online search engine" under the Digital Services Act, TNW said. That means OpenAI must publish a public record of its ads by January.
For advertisers: OpenAI also added more ways to measure results through outside partners. Digiday reported that advertisers had complained they could not measure ChatGPT ads well. It also noted that ad space is limited. "There's only one ad placement on ChatGPT whereas Google has multiple," Zeno Group's Shamsul Chowdhury told Digiday.
5 listed sources
- OpenAI, Oct 5, 2026: Building advertising for the way people use AI
- The Verge (Emma Roth), Oct 5, 2026: OpenAI is sticking more ads in ChatGPT
- Digiday (Krystal Scanlon), Oct 5, 2026: OpenAI moves to make ChatGPT ads more measurable — and more visual
- The Next Web, Oct 5, 2026: OpenAI is putting ads inside ChatGPT's image generation
- Search Engine Watch, Oct 5, 2026: OpenAI tests new visual ad format in ChatGPT
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
This story is based on OpenAI's own announcement, with details from The Verge, Digiday, The Next Web and Search Engine Watch. The 1.2 billion weekly-user figure is OpenAI's count. OpenAI has not named the advertisers in the test or said when the format might expand beyond image generation.
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