Are Ads Coming to ChatGPT? What the Rumors (and OpenAI's Silence) Tell Us

You open ChatGPT to ask a quick question. Between the AI’s thoughtful response, you notice something new: a subtle suggestion to “check out Peloton’s new classes” or “browse Target’s holiday deals.”

Wait… was that an ad?

That’s the question thousands of ChatGPT users started asking in early December 2025, when screenshots of what looked suspiciously like advertisements began circulating online. OpenAI quickly pushed back, calling them “not ads.” But the damage was done. The conversation had started.

And honestly? It might’ve been inevitable.

Let’s unpack what we know, what we’re hearing in the whispers, and what this all means for the future of AI tools.

Confused about ads

What Actually Happened?

Here’s the timeline. In early December 2025, paying ChatGPT subscribers started posting screenshots showing promotional-looking messages embedded in their conversations. We’re talking branded content… Peloton, Target, and others, just appearing unprompted during chats.

The backlash was swift. People weren’t just annoyed, they were mad. These were paying customers, after all. The whole point of a subscription is to avoid exactly this kind of thing.

Nick Turley, OpenAI’s head of ChatGPT, quickly tried to put out the fire. He said “there are no live tests for ads” and that “any screenshots you’ve seen are either not real or not ads.” But then Chief Research Officer Mark Chen came forward with a more honest take: “anything that feels like an ad needs to be handled with care, and we fell short.”

Translation: Yeah, we tried something. You hated it. We’re turning it off.

OpenAI disabled the feature they called “app suggestions” but the cat was already out of the bag.

User backlash

The Leak That Confirmed Everyone’s Suspicions

Here’s where it gets interesting.

A few days after the controversy, someone dug into the ChatGPT Android app’s beta version (1.2025.329, if you’re counting). Buried in the code? References to an “ads feature,” complete with terms like “bazaar content,” “search ad,” and “search ads carousel.”

BleepingComputer broke the story, and it painted a pretty clear picture. OpenAI wasn’t just testing random suggestions. They were building an ad infrastructure.

The leak suggested ads would initially be limited to the search experience, not (yet) sprinkled throughout conversations. But still. The groundwork was being laid.

Then came the curveball. CEO Sam Altman reportedly declared a “code red” inside OpenAI, telling employees the company needed to focus on improving ChatGPT to stay ahead of competitors like Google and Anthropic. Ads, he said, were now “on the backburner.”

So… are ads coming or not?

Investigating

Why OpenAI Might Need Ads (Even If They Don’t Want Them)

Let’s talk money. Because that’s what this is really about.

OpenAI is pulling in serious revenue, around $13 billion annually, with 70% coming from everyday people paying $20/month for ChatGPT Plus. That sounds great until you see the other side of the equation.

The company is burning through cash at an eye-watering rate. In the first half of 2025 alone, OpenAI spent over $5 billion on inference costs (basically, the computational power needed to run ChatGPT). By September, that number had climbed to $8.67 billion. They’re on track to burn through $8.5 billion this year against $13 billion in revenue.

That’s… not sustainable.

Running an AI chatbot at global scale (700 million weekly users, by the way) is expensive. Every message sent by a free user costs OpenAI money. And while the free tier is a brilliant growth strategy (get people hooked, then convert them to paying subscribers), it’s also a massive cost center.

Advertising could change that equation. Instead of free users being purely a cost, they could become a revenue stream. And not a small one. If OpenAI could monetize even a fraction of its free user base through ads, it could significantly offset operational costs.

Sam Altman himself admitted in June 2025 that he was “not totally opposed” to ads, as long as they were introduced “with great care.” That’s corporate-speak for “we’re thinking about it, but we don’t want to piss everyone off.”

Money burning

What Ads in ChatGPT Could Look Like

So what would this actually mean for users?

Based on the leaked code and the recent “app suggestions” experiment, here’s what seems most likely:

Search-based ads - When you ask ChatGPT to help you find something like “What’s the best running shoe for beginners?” you might see sponsored results alongside organic suggestions. Think Google search results, but in conversational form.

Contextual recommendations - Mid-conversation, ChatGPT might suggest relevant products or services. “Since you’re asking about meal planning, have you checked out HelloFresh?” (Though this is exactly the approach that backfired in December.)

Free tier only (probably) - OpenAI would be smart to keep ads confined to the free version. Paying subscribers would (hopefully) remain ad-free. Otherwise, the backlash would make December’s controversy look tame.

The key question is, can OpenAI thread the needle? Can they introduce ads that feel helpful rather than intrusive?

Because here’s the thing. AI-powered ads could actually be useful. If you’re asking ChatGPT for restaurant recommendations and it surfaces a sponsored suggestion that’s genuinely relevant, is that so different from a helpful recommendation?

Or does the fact that money changed hands behind the scenes fundamentally change the dynamic?

The Trust Problem

This is where it gets tricky.

People have developed a unique relationship with ChatGPT. It feels different from Google or social media, more personal, more conversational. You’re not just searching, you’re talking. And when you talk to someone (or something), you expect them to be honest with you.

The moment users suspect ChatGPT is recommending something because of advertising dollars rather than genuine utility, that trust evaporates.

This is especially true for paying subscribers. When you’re forking over $20 or $200 a month, seeing ads feels like a betrayal. You paid to avoid exactly this.

Trust issues

The December backlash made this crystal clear. Even OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer Mark Chen acknowledged they misread the room: “we fell short.”

What Happens Next?

Right now, ads are officially “on the backburner.” Altman’s “code red” shifted the company’s focus to improving ChatGPT’s core capabilities. Making it faster, smarter, and more competitive with rivals.

But let’s be realistic. The financial pressure isn’t going anywhere. OpenAI needs to find a path to profitability, and subscriptions alone might not cut it. The company has ambitious goals, reaching $200 billion in revenue by 2030, according to some projections. That’s going to require multiple revenue streams.

Advertising is almost certainly part of the long-term plan. The question isn’t if ads come to ChatGPT, but when and how.

Here’s what I’d expect:

Free tier ads first - OpenAI will likely test ads exclusively with free users, keeping paid tiers ad-free.
Search-focused rollout - Rather than interupting conversations, ads will probably start in search results or when users explicitly ask for recommendations.
Slow, cautious testing - After December’s backlash, OpenAI will move carefully. Expect limited tests with specific user segments before any broad rollout.
Opt-in features - OpenAI might frame ads as “recommendations” or “suggestions” that users can toggle on or off, giving people control over the experiance.

The Bigger Picture

The ChatGPT ads debate is really about something larger. The future of AI monetization.

As AI tools become more sophisticated and more expensive to run, companies need sustainable business models. Subscriptions work for a segment of users, but the vast majority will remain on free tiers. Those users have to be monetized somehow, or companies will simply stop offering free access altogether.

In the Agnost AI community, we’ve been watching this evolution closely. The challenge isn’t just technical, it’s philosophical. How do you build AI tools that are both accessible and financially viable? How do you balance user experience with business needs?

OpenAI is navigating this tension in real time. Making mistakes (like December’s “app suggestions”), learning, and adjusting. Other companies will face the same challenges.

The truth is, we might look back at the ad-free era of AI chatbots the way we look at the early, ad-free days of the internet. A brief, unsustainable moment before economic reality set in.

Future predictions

Conclusion

Are ads coming to ChatGPT? Almost certainly. Eventually.

The financial math is hard to ignore. OpenAI is spending billions to keep ChatGPT running, and while subscriptions are strong, they’re not enough on their own. Advertising offers a way to monetize the 700 million weekly users who will never pay $20 a month.

But the how matters just as much as the what. If OpenAI can introduce ads that feel genuinely useful (contextually relevant, non-intrusive, and clearly labeled) there’s a path forward. But if ads feel forced, manipulative, or ever show up in paid tiers, the backlash will be fierce.

For now, ads are on hold. OpenAI is focused on making ChatGPT better, faster, and more competitive. But those leaked code references aren’t going away. The infrastructure is being built.

The question isn’t whether ChatGPT will eventually have ads.

It’s whether we’ll notice when they finally arrive.

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