Amid rising costs tied to training and running large-scale artificial intelligence models, OpenAI recently confirmed plans to bring advertising to ChatGPT, which clearly shows a major strategic shift in the company’s intent to monetise its massive user base. And now, a latest report has revealed some important details about how this ad push is expected to take shape. The ChatGPT maker has begun briefing a small group of advertisers on a chatbot-specific ad format that will be priced based on ad views rather than clicks, with the rollout set to begin as a limited pilot, reports The Information.
According to the report, OpenAI’s initial advertising rollout will be deliberately small and tightly controlled. The company is said to be working with only a few dozen advertisers in the early phase, each committing relatively modest budgets, typically under $1 million. This pilot is expected to run for several weeks, giving the AI giant time to evaluate advertiser interest, user reaction, and the overall effectiveness of ads placed inside conversational interfaces before expanding the programme more broadly.
One of the biggest changes from traditional digital advertising is how the Sam Altman-led company plans to charge advertisers. Instead of charging advertisers when users click on ads, the company is reportedly adopting a cost-per-view approach, where brands pay simply for having their ads shown. This reflects the unique nature of chat-based products, where users are less likely to click away from an ongoing conversation. By focusing on impressions rather than clicks, OpenAI appears to be positioning chatbot ads as a brand-awareness channel rather than a direct performance marketing tool.
The ads themselves are expected to appear along with ChatGPT conversations rather than being embedded into the AI’s responses. OpenAI has previously stated that advertising will be clearly labelled and visually separated from chatbot-generated content. The company has also stressed that ads will not influence how ChatGPT answers questions and will not be generated using personal and sensitive information from user conversations.
At this stage, OpenAI does not have a self-service ad buying platform similar to those offered by Google and Meta. Instead, campaigns during the pilot phase are expected to be managed directly through OpenAI. However, a scalable self-serve system is reportedly still under development and would be critical if the firm decides to roll out ads more widely across its products. Despite all this, adding ads to a generative AI platform comes with both opportunities and risks. On one hand, it could bring in significant revenue from ChatGPT’s large free user base. But on the other hand, poorly placed and annoying ads could weaken user trust and push users toward competitors.
The Tech Portal is published by Blue Box Media Private Limited. Our investors have no influence over our reporting. Read our full Ownership and Funding Disclosure →
