OpenAI is testing more ads in ChatGPT
Visual ads will appear first in image generation.
OpenAI is bringing new, more visual ads to ChatGPT. In a blog published Monday, the company said it would begin, starting later this month, to test a new ad format inside of its chatbot. ChatGPT users in the US will be the first to see the new advertisements. They will appear when you go to generate an image using ChatGPT Images. "Ads will be clearly labeled, and remain separate from the image being created," explains OpenAI. "As with our other ad formats, advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides."
OpenAI first began displaying ads inside of ChatGPT at the start of the year. Those ads appear in a sponsored section beneath the chatbot's outputs, with the sponsor's name, logo and a link to its website displayed. By adding visuals to the mix, OpenAI says its ads will help people better imagine how the products and services it recommends "could fit into their lives." If you're a ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscriber, you won't see any ads appear in your chats. Enterprise customers also won't see ads appear in their conversations. OpenAI is testing visual ads with a select group of initial advertisers, and says it plans to experiment with additional formats in the future.
As in the past, OpenAI says it has implemented safeguards to ensure ads are only displayed alongside topics where it would be "appropriate" to advertise something. For instance, you won't see ChatGPT generate ads when you're talking to the chatbot about sensitive topics, such as your personal health or mental wellbeing.