ChatGPT introduces ads in the USA
OpenAI is testing advertising in the US market. The company promises a strict separation of ads and AI responses and adherence to data protection.
From no-go to new standard: OpenAI opens up to ads.
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OpenAI is introducing advertising in the ChatGPT AI chatbot for the first time. As announced in January, the ads are limited to the free version of ChatGPT and the cheapest paid version, “ChatGPT Go,” which was launched worldwide last month. The more expensive subscription versions, Plus and Pro, as well as the Business, Enterprise, and Education offerings, will not contain advertising. The ads are initially limited to the USA.
OpenAI states that the introduction of ads is guided by five central principles. Ads should not influence the AI's generated responses and should be clearly visually marked as such. Advertisers will not have access to chat histories, personal details, or saved memories, but only anonymized performance data such as click-through rates. The selection of displayed ads is based on relevance to the current chat topic and past interactions. For example, when searching for a recipe, ads related to cooking or food delivery services might appear. OpenAI is excluding ads for minors as well as advertising content in the areas of health or politics for now.
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Users can have individual ads hidden, provide feedback, and manage or disable personalized advertising at any time in the settings. Those who do not want to see ads can switch to a more expensive subscription or turn off ads in the free version, which in turn reduces the number of daily free messages.
OpenAI succumbs to cost pressure
While Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, recently dismissed ads as a “last resort,” the turnaround has come much faster than expected. The pressure from growing competition and billions in losses seems to have accelerated the change of heart. Just last week, rival Anthropic mocked OpenAI's course change with a Super Bowl commercial.
The company itself cites economic necessity. OpenAI argues that the stable operation of the free and Go versions consumes immense sums for infrastructure. Ultimately, it is simply about maintaining broader and higher-quality access to these offerings.
The current advertising phase is designed as a test run and is intended to be significantly expanded in the long term, OpenAI writes.
(afl)
