OpenAI Friday said it is set to test advertisements in its ChatGPT free and Go tiers, according to a recent announcement by the company, marking a shift in its approach to monetizing AI services.

In the official announcement, OpenAI stated that the ads would be clearly labeled, separate from ChatGPT's responses, and would not influence the AI's outputs. The company also emphasized that user conversations will remain private from advertisers, and higher-tier subscriptions such as Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise will remain ad-free.

Altman Outlines Advertising Principles

CEO Sam Altman, in a post on X, outlined the principles that will guide the company's approach to advertising.

The executive of the California-based AI research and deployment company wrote on X, “We will not accept money to influence the answer ChatGPT gives you, and we keep your conversations private from advertisers.”

Altman also acknowledged that many users want to access AI without paying, and he expressed hope that this new business model would be successful.

“It is clear to us that a lot of people want to use a lot of AI and don’t want to pay, so we are are hopeful a business model like this can work.”

Altman mentioned that OpenAI will strive to make ads more useful to users, similar to the ads on Instagram.

Financial Pressures and User Growth Shape Move

The decision to introduce ads in the ChatGPT Free and Go tiers aligns with OpenAI's mission to make powerful AI accessible to everyone. The company has pursued this goal through its free product and low-cost subscription tier, ChatGPT Go, which launched last year in 171 countries.

Although Altman has previously called advertising a "last resort," there's a 37% chance that OpenAI will introduce ads on ChatGPT before Mar. 31.

The company's annual burn rate reportedly exceeds $17 billion, and subscription revenue alone may not be sufficient to sustain its compute-intensive AI models.

According to The Information’s November report, as of July 2025, about 35 million people, roughly 5% of ChatGPT's weekly active users, subscribed to the Plus or Pro plans, which cost $20 and $200 per month, respectively.

Altman’s announcement comes after he revealed in December that OpenAI is hiring a Head of Preparedness to address the growing challenges posed by advanced AI models.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.