OpenAI is preparing to test ads in ChatGPT

OpenAI is reportedly planning an internal pilot to test advertisements within ChatGPT, with early experiments limited to employees.

This would mark a major shift in OpenAI’s monetization strategy, signaling that subscription revenue alone may not be sufficient as compute and model development costs increase. Journalist Alex Heath reported that OpenAI’s Applications CEO Fidji Simo informed staff that ads are being considered for an internal version of ChatGPT.

If expanded publicly, this could reshape how users experience AI assistants and create a major new digital advertising surface potentially challenging Google search economics.