OpenAI to test image generation adverts in ChatGPT in October
OpenAI plans to test visual adverts in ChatGPT, initially while users generate images. The move expands the company’s advertising in the chatbot and could give brands a new way to promote products, while raising questions about how the adverts will appear and whether they will interrupt the experience.
The test is due to begin in the US in October, but OpenAI has not explained how adverts will be displayed, created or targeted. An advertising executive questioned whether image generation means users are in a shopping mindset. Free users can opt out of adverts, but lose access to tools including image generation; ChatGPT Plus starts at $20 a month.
- OpenAI will test visual adverts during ChatGPT image generation in the US.
- The format and advert targeting have not yet been explained.
- Free users who opt out lose access to image generation.
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ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot created by OpenAI that is used by millions of people for writing, answering questions and generating images. The service offers both a free version and a paid subscription called ChatGPT Plus, which costs $20 a month and removes adverts whilst providing additional features.
OpenAI already tests advertisements in the free version of ChatGPT to generate revenue, since supporting the service costs money. Advertising is a common way for technology companies to fund free services and allow brands to reach large user bases.
Testing adverts during image generation represents an expansion of this advertising strategy and introduces a new promotional space for brands. OpenAI's approach reflects a common challenge in the technology industry: how to fund free services whilst also making revenue through advertising.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
OpenAI faces genuine costs in developing and maintaining ChatGPT, and advertising represents a sustainable way to keep the service free for users who cannot afford subscriptions. Many valuable digital platforms use advertising models, and OpenAI's approach offers choice: paid users avoid adverts entirely, whilst free users retain access to image generation if they tolerate ads. This balances business viability with accessibility, allowing the company to invest in improvements that benefit all users. The advertising test is a reasonable monetisation strategy that does not prevent core functionality.
The case against
Placing adverts during image generation is contextually inappropriate and disruptive. Users generating images are engaged in creative work, not shopping, meaning they are not in a mindset receptive to marketing and will find adverts jarring and intrusive to their creative flow. OpenAI's lack of transparency about how adverts will be targeted and displayed raises legitimate concerns about data collection and manipulation. The arrangement also creates a troubling dynamic where free users gradually lose quality of experience, pressuring them toward paid subscriptions rather than genuinely offering choice.
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Originally published by The Register as “OpenAI to flood your eyeballs with visual ads”.