OpenAI said Thursday that its US advertising pilot within ChatGPT has surpassed $100 million in annualized revenue just six weeks after launch, highlighting strong early demand for its emerging ads business, reports Reuters.
The company, led by Sam Altman, announced in January that it would begin testing ads with a subset of US users, as part of efforts to diversify revenue and offset the high costs of developing advanced AI systems. The pilot targets users on the free tier and the lower-cost Go plan.
OpenAI emphasized that advertisements are clearly separated from ChatGPT’s generated responses and do not influence outputs. It also reiterated that user conversations are not shared with advertisers.
According to a company spokesperson, about 85% of users are currently eligible to see ads, though fewer than 20% encounter them on a daily basis—leaving significant room for future monetization.
“We’re seeing no impact on consumer trust metrics, low dismissal rates, and steady improvements in ad relevance as we incorporate user feedback,” the company said.
OpenAI plans to expand the pilot to additional countries in the coming weeks, including Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
The company has already onboarded more than 600 advertisers, with nearly 80% of small- and medium-sized businesses expressing interest in the new ad format.
To accelerate growth, OpenAI is preparing to roll out self-serve advertising tools in April, enabling more businesses to access the platform directly.
Earlier this week, OpenAI appointed David Dugan, a former Meta ads executive, to lead its global advertising solutions team.
Analysts say advertising could unlock a major new revenue stream from ChatGPT’s vast user base, though some warn it may risk alienating users concerned about trust and product integrity.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
