ChatGPT has started showing ads to some US users

Sam Altman once called ads gross. Now OpenAI is turning to them to monetize the many users who don’t pay: ChatGPT has hundreds of millions of users, and only a small percentage subscribe. OpenAI has announced it will begin showing ads to some US users starting Monday.

The ads will appear for some free users and for some people on ChatGPT Go, the new $8-a-month tier the company introduced last month. Ads will be targeted based on the conversation a user is having, prior queries and chats, and whether the user engaged with or hid previous ads.

For now, OpenAI says it will not use data about activity outside ChatGPT to target ads inside the service — though the author said he would be surprised if that does not change over time. The rollout carries a clear risk that users will worry answers are influenced by advertising.

United States

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