OpenAI said on Monday, February 9, 2026, that it was beginning to test advertising in ChatGPT for logged-in adults in the United States on its Free and Go plans. Go costs $8 a month in the U.S.
The company said sponsored placements would appear below some answers, clearly labeled and separated from ChatGPT’s responses. OpenAI said the ads would not influence the chatbot’s answers.
Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education subscribers would not see ads during the test, OpenAI said.
Opt-out options and advertising controls
OpenAI said Free users could opt out of advertising in exchange for fewer daily free messages. Its launch announcement specified that option for Free accounts but did not establish whether Go subscribers would have an equivalent opt-out.
The company said it would select ads by matching advertisers’ submissions with the topic of a conversation, past chats and previous interactions with ads. Someone researching recipes, for example, might see an advertisement for grocery delivery or a meal kit.
OpenAI said users could dismiss ads, provide feedback, find out why an ad appeared, turn off ad personalization and delete their ad data.
Advertisers would receive only aggregate performance information, such as the number of views or clicks, OpenAI said. The company said advertisers would not have access to users’ conversations, chat histories, memories or personal details.
OpenAI said it would exclude ads from accounts whose users identified themselves as under 18 or whom the company predicted were under 18. Ads would also be excluded near sensitive or regulated topics, including health, mental health and politics.
Earlier plans and Anthropic’s response
OpenAI outlined its advertising plans in January, when it also announced Go’s global rollout. The company described advertising as a way to help fund free and lower-cost access to ChatGPT.
Rival Anthropic aired commercials during Sunday’s Super Bowl criticizing advertising in AI conversations. One television spot used the tagline: “There is a time and place for ads. Your conversations with AI should not be one of them.” Anthropic separately said Claude would remain ad-free.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had criticized the campaign as “dishonest” in a February 4 social media post, saying it misrepresented OpenAI’s plans. “We would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them,” Altman wrote.
