OpenAI is widening the use of advertising within ChatGPT, introducing a new format that displays images of sponsored products and services on screen. The company confirmed the move in an announcement on Monday, with testing set to begin in the US later this month.
The new visual ad format will “initially” appear when users generate images with ChatGPT. According to OpenAI, the adverts will remain separate from the image a user creates and will “not influence the answers ChatGPT provides”.
How ChatGPT advertising has developed
OpenAI first brought advertising to ChatGPT in February. Until now, the adverts have shown only a company’s name, logo, and a link to its product, placed within a “sponsored” section beneath the chat. The latest format builds on that approach by adding product and service imagery to the experience, while keeping the promotional content distinct from the AI-generated results.
The company has framed the change as an extension of its existing advertising model rather than a departure from it, maintaining that sponsored material does not shape the responses the chatbot delivers.
Who will see the new ads
The visual adverts are tied to ChatGPT’s free experience. Users who subscribe to ChatGPT Plus or ChatGPT Pro will not see the ads, keeping paid tiers free of the new sponsored imagery.
Testing of the format will begin in the US later this month, with the image-generation feature serving as the first point where the sponsored visuals appear.
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Image: theverge.com
