Thought Leadership
OpenAI is expanding tests for advertising in ChatGPT internationally. Advertisements appear in the Free and Go plans in several countries.
The AI company OpenAI is gradually expanding its pilot project for advertising in ChatGPT to further international markets. Following the launch in February 2026 in the US and expansions in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the company unlocked advertisements in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea in August 2026.
The tests are aimed exclusively at logged-in adult users of the free entry-level plans Free and Go. Paid subscriptions such as Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education remain permanently ad-free. OpenAI intends to use the advertising revenue to finance high infrastructure costs and to continue to enable broad, free access to powerful AI models.
Independence of responses and strict data privacy
OpenAI emphasizes that displayed ads have no influence on the answers generated by the AI. Sponsored content is visually separated from regular text answers and clearly marked as advertising. The company assures:
“ChatGPT’s responses remain independent and unbiased, conversations remain private, and users retain decisive control over their experience.”
OpenAI
Advertisers receive no access to users’ chat histories, personal data, or stored memories. Only aggregated performance data such as view and click counts are evaluated. Additionally, no ads are displayed in accounts of minors or alongside sensitive and regulated topics such as health or politics.
User control options and outlook
Users receive various control options over the displayed advertising. Ads can be hidden, personalization settings can be adjusted, and stored advertising data can be deleted with a single click. Users of the Free plan also have the option to completely disable ads. In return, they then receive a reduced number of daily available free messages.
For the future, OpenAI plans to gradually supplement the advertising program with additional formats and integration options for companies and to expand into further countries.
(Editorial Team)
