Archive · 31 Aug 2026
OpenAI’s ChatGPT Advertising Reaches $1 Billion Run Rate
OpenAI has started making a lot of money from advertisements shown in ChatGPT.
The company says the ads could earn $1 billion in a year at the current pace.
It began testing the ads in the United States about 200 days ago.
Ads are now available in more than 40 countries.
They appear for people using the free version and the Go subscription plan.
OpenAI says the ads are labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT’s answers.
It also says advertisers cannot read private conversations or change the chatbot’s answers.
Another change is that European Union officials have placed ChatGPT under stricter digital safety rules.
OpenAI must follow those rules within four months.
OpenAI says ChatGPT advertising has reached a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate about 200 days after testing began.
Ads are now available in more than 40 countries, with self-service access expanding across India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Advertisements appear on ChatGPT’s free and Go plans, which represent most of its roughly 1 billion weekly active users.
OpenAI says ads are clearly separated from responses, cannot access private conversations and do not affect chatbot answers.
The European Union designated ChatGPT a “very large” online platform under the Digital Services Act, giving OpenAI four months to comply with additional obligations.
- Who
- OpenAI, ChatGPT users, advertisers and European Union regulators.
- What
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT advertising business reached a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate while its global ad rollout expanded and European regulatory obligations increased.
- When
- About 200 days after OpenAI began testing ads in February; the latest expansion and EU designation were announced Monday.
- Where
- ChatGPT ads are available in more than 40 countries, with expansion across India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa; the regulatory action applies in the European Union.
- Why
- OpenAI is diversifying revenue beyond subscriptions and investing in computing infrastructure and AI development, while the European Union is imposing additional safeguards on large platforms.
OpenAI’s Position
Critics and Regulators’ Concerns
Advertising and user privacy
OpenAI’s Position
OpenAI says advertisements are clearly identified, separated from ChatGPT responses, unavailable to advertisers through private conversations and unable to influence chatbot answers.
Critics and Regulators’ Concerns
Anthropic criticized OpenAI’s decision to advertise in ChatGPT, making the issue a central theme of its first Super Bowl advertising campaign.
Global expansion and oversight
OpenAI’s Position
OpenAI says its next growth phase will expand ads into more markets and add formats, buying options, objectives and measurement tools.
Critics and Regulators’ Concerns
The European Union has placed ChatGPT under stricter Digital Services Act oversight, requiring risk mitigation involving illegal content, minors, well-being, fundamental rights, elections and public security.
- Advertising milestone
- A $1 billion annualised revenue run rate
- Testing launch
- Ads began testing in the United States about 200 days before the milestone
- Geographic reach
- Ads are available in more than 40 countries
- Eligible plans
- ChatGPT’s free tier and Go subscription plan
- Potential audience
- ChatGPT has roughly 1 billion weekly active users
- EU classification
- The European Union designated ChatGPT a “very large” online platform
- Compliance deadline
- ChatGPT has four months to meet additional Digital Services Act requirements