OpenAI has begun rolling out advertising in ChatGPT. Ads are now being shown to users on ChatGPT’s Free and Go plans, although paid plans including Plus, Pro and Business will remain ad-free, at least for the time being.

OpenAI is positioning this as a new form of AI-native advertising, with campaign management and conversion measurement tools already being developed. For advertisers, the attraction is clear. Unlike traditional search advertising, ChatGPT can potentially understand the wider context of a conversation and therefore a user’s broader intent.

This was an inevitable step in the industry – and one way to subsidise free (or low cost) access to increasingly costly-to-run AI services. It’s possible to switch to an Ads-Free plan, but this lowers the usage limit and reduces access to more complex features, such as image generation.

There are also significant unanswered questions around targeting and measurement. Analysis has highlighted the difficulty of independently verifying where ads appear within private, conversational environments without compromising user privacy.

OpenAI says that ads will remain clearly labelled and separate from ChatGPT’s answers. The AI tech giant has also been keen to emphasise that advertisers are unable to pay to influence how the popular chatbot answers. It repeats that ‘seeing an ad doesn’t mean OpenAI endorses or recommends the advertiser or its products or services.’

It is as yet unclear if commercial incentives may eventually begin unduly influencing recommendations or comprising conversations.