OpenAI still exploring ads in ChatGPT, report says

OpenAI is quietly testing its advertising future as it heads into 2026, according to insiders who have heard of revived plans to pilot sponsored content in ChatGPT.

The new rumors stem from comments reportedly made by OpenAI's CEO of applications Fidji Simo, who recently published a breakdown of OpenAI's R&D goals in a post on Substack. Offline, sources say Simo mentioned an additional plan to begin testing ads on internal, employee-only chat models in the new year, reported Alex Heath, journalist and author of blog Sources. Simo has been laying a strong commercial foundation for ChatGPT's advertising future, including partnerships with Walmart, Instacart, Target, and Shopify.

OpenAI has been relatively tight-lipped about its plans to inject public-facing ads directly into chatbot responses or chat windows, despite forward momentum from its competitors like Google and leaked references to ad functionality already being built into the ChatGPT app. In December, user outrage over responses that appeared to read as undisclosed advertisements for products like Peloton exercise bikes and fitness classes, led OpenAI team members to disclose that while the chatbot may make related product "suggestions" to users, there was no monetary advertising model in place. For now.

That same month, CEO Sam Altman told employees that plans for app advertising were on hold while the company entered a "code red" and redefined its priorities for the upcoming year, which included delaying the release of a new personalized assistant model called Pulse.

But the company hasn't fully shelved its ad business goals, which could provide a more stable source of funding for the company (and a profitable use case for the store of personalized user data its compiled). According to reporting by The Information, employees have in recent weeks tested various ad layout mockups and floated disclosures for sponsored responses in ChatGPT conversations, with the goal of creating "a new type of digital ads" that wouldn't immediately turn users away and into the arms of competitors.

"As ChatGPT becomes more capable and widely used, we're looking at ways to continue offering more intelligence to everyone," an OpenAI spokesperson told the publication. "People have a trusted relationship with ChatGPT, and any approach would be designed to respect that trust."