OpenAI is sticking more ads in ChatGPT
The Verge Emma Roth ● Covered by 3 sources
OpenAI is testing picture ads inside ChatGPT in the US. They’ll show up when people make images, and paid users won’t see them.
Based on reporting by The Verge, Emma Roth — read the original for the full story.
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OpenAI is about to make ChatGPT a little more crowded. Later this month, the company will start testing a new ad format in the US that puts sponsored product and service images on the screen when users generate images with ChatGPT.
That’s a step beyond the text-only ads OpenAI introduced in February. Those earlier ads were tucked into a sponsored section below the chat, with a company name, logo, and a link. The new version is visual, but OpenAI says it will stay separate from the image the user asked for.
The company also says the ads will not affect ChatGPT’s answers. That’s the promise, at least. The test begins in the US first, and ads will not appear for people subscribed to ChatGPT Plus or Pro.
It’s a familiar move: once a product gets big enough, someone tries to bolt advertising onto it and calls it a feature. OpenAI is betting users will tolerate the extra clutter as long as the answer box still feels clean. That’s a fragile bargain.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
OpenAI is doing what so many “premium” AI products eventually do: sneaking in ads at the edges and hoping nobody notices the tilt. The clean answer box stays sacred, apparently, while everything around it turns into a billboard. Very elegant, if the goal is to make the internet feel like a mall again.
Read more about this at: The Verge