OpenAI begins testing sponsored ads inside ChatGPT for Free and Go users

OpenAI has begun a limited test of advertising inside ChatGPT, placing labeled sponsored links at the bottom of some conversations for logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers in the United States. The experiment, announced and begun on Feb. 9–10, 2026, is small and incremental; not all eligible users will immediately see ads.

In a company statement, OpenAI said: “Today, we’re beginning to test ads in ChatGPT in the U.S. The test will be for logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education tiers will not have ads. Ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you, and we keep your conversations with ChatGPT private from advertisers. Our goal is for ads to support broader access to more powerful ChatGPT features while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT for important and personal tasks. We’re starting with a test to learn, listen, and make sure we get the experience right.”

The ads are described as clearly marked and visually separated from the chatbot’s responses. The Verge reported that they will appear as “sponsored” links at the bottom of ChatGPT answers, a placement OpenAI says is intended to keep advertising distinct from the model’s replies. OpenAI and its leadership have repeatedly stressed independence between ad placements and the assistant’s outputs: Sam Altman posted in mid-January that “we will not accept money to influence the answer ChatGPT gives you and we keep your conversations private from advertisers.”

OpenAI said advertisers will not receive personal conversation content and will instead get only aggregated metrics. The company added that ad selection will be optimized “based on what’s most helpful to you,” drawing on the topic of a current conversation, past chats and prior ad interactions. To protect users, OpenAI said it will avoid placing ads in or near certain sensitive topics such as health, mental health and politics and that it will “build protections to reduce the risk of scams and other harmful or misleading ads.”

Users will have controls. Free-tier accounts can opt out of ads in exchange for fewer daily free messages, and users can dismiss individual ads, provide feedback, turn off ad personalization, turn off ad targeting based on prior chats, and delete ad data. Axios noted an OpenAI spokesperson saying, “Our goal is for ads to support broader access to more powerful ChatGPT features while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT for important and personal tasks.” The Verge reported that “Users on the Go tier can’t opt out of seeing ads,” while both Free and Go users can exercise the other controls and clear ad data without affecting chat histories.

Pricing details tied to avoiding ads vary by source. NBC News reported that the Go tier, introduced in January, costs $8 per month. The Verge characterized the threshold for avoiding ads as requiring at least a $20 per month Plus subscription. OpenAI said users who prefer not to see ads can upgrade to Plus or Pro plans or choose the Free-tier opt-out trade-off.

The test is U.S.-only; Gulf News highlighted that users in the United Arab Emirates and other markets will not be affected at this stage. OpenAI invited businesses to sign up to participate at openai.com/advertisers and said it intends to evolve formats, objectives and buying models over time. As the trial unfolds, the company said it will collect user feedback to refine safeguards and the ad experience, while critics and competitors watch to see whether monetization will alter the shape of consumer access to conversational AI.