OpenAI has begun showing visual ads inside ChatGPT, starting with U.S. users on free and lower-cost plans who generate images, the company said. The ads appear after an image result and are the latest step in OpenAI's push to monetize ChatGPT's free tier.
How the ads work
OpenAI says the ads are clearly labeled and will not influence the answers ChatGPT provides, and they display after a user's image-generation results rather than inside the conversation itself. The rollout is limited to the U.S. for now; OpenAI says it plans to expand to ChatGPT's roughly 1.2 billion weekly users globally.
Why now
The ads give OpenAI a new revenue stream from users who are not paying for a subscription, without raising prices on paid tiers directly. OpenAI tested other ad formats earlier in 2026 and expanded an ad product to India in August; the image-generation ads follow Meta's own ad-supported Muse AI assistant. To support advertisers, OpenAI said it is working with measurement firms including AppsFlyer, Triple Whale, and Adjust, along with brand-safety reviewers DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science.
Want to avoid the ads?
OpenAI's rollout notes suggest paid ChatGPT subscribers will not see the new image-generation ads, though the company has not detailed a separate opt-out for free users beyond upgrading plans.
