Ads Are Coming to ChatGPT, but for How Long Will We See Them as Ads?
ChatGPT has ads. Since May 2026 ads.openai.com is open to all US advertisers. Today the ads are visible: a box labeled “Sponsored”, under the response. OpenAI keeps repeating the “Answer Independence” principle: ads never influence the answers. Separate systems, architecturally locked. Nice, clean, transparent. How long will it last?
I bet the label will be the first thing to go. Today the box stands out. Tomorrow, when the experience has to be “more conversational”, the wording will shrink, more blurred. Already happened with Instagram: sponsored posts used to be obvious at a glance, now it takes two seconds and attention.
The separation between ads and answers is the one I trust the least. OpenAI is aiming for 2.5 billion in ad revenue in 2026 and 100 billion by 2030. IPO coming, infrastructure costing billions a month. And just like on Facebook, when the numbers get that high they even start accepting sponsored scams. When an advertiser pays enough, who decides what the model will suggest about closing your mortgage, switching your doctor, or changing your pills?
Oh, and since April the privacy policy explicitly says OpenAI receives data from advertisers about our purchases…
What do you think?
#ArtificialDecisions #MCC
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