OpenAI to introduce ads in ChatGPT US, raising privacy concerns
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New Delhi: Tech major OpenAI has reportedly announced plans to introduce advertising on ChatGPT in the United States, with ads set to appear on the free version and the low-cost Go subscription, while Pro, Business and Enterprise users will remain ad-free.
According to multiple reports, OpenAI has said advertisements will be clearly separated from chatbot responses, will not influence outputs, and that the company will not sell user conversations.
The company has also pledged to allow users to opt out of personalised advertising and said it will refrain from showing ads to users under the age of 18 or around “sensitive” topics such as health and politics. However, the move has triggered unease among users and experts, who have raised concerns over whether voluntary safeguards will hold once advertising becomes a core part of the company’s business model.
Analysts pointed out that social media platforms followed a similar trajectory, where targeted advertising reshaped services to maximise user engagement, eventually leading to the erosion of user privacy.
While OpenAI has stated that it will not display advertisements “near sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health or politics”, observers noted that the company has not clearly defined what constitutes “sensitive” content, or who will determine and enforce such classifications.
Large-scale artificial intelligence systems are expensive to develop and operate, and OpenAI is expected to incur losses of around $115 billion over the next five years. Industry analysts said advertising remains the most scalable revenue model, but warned that ad-driven systems reward engagement, potentially encouraging content that sustains attention even if it is misleading or harmful.
Experts suggested that a reliable alternative could be publicly funded AI systems, such as Switzerland’s Apertus project, developed through universities and the country’s national supercomputing centre. The system is open-source, compliant with European AI laws, and operates without advertising.
Industry observers further cautioned that if OpenAI, often promoted as a “super assistant”, begins placing advertisements under personalised guidance related to products, lifestyle choices, finances or politics, such messages could carry greater influence than traditional ads encountered during web browsing. This, they warned, could blur the line between advice and persuasion.
With IANS inputs