OpenAI announced on October 5, 2026 a visual ad format for ChatGPT, TechCrunch and The Register report. OpenAI's post is titled "Building advertising for the way people use AI."
What is reported:
- The ads will appear alongside images users ask ChatGPT to generate, TechCrunch says.
- They begin to appear later this month in the US only, with an initial test group of advertisers.
- OpenAI says the ads will be clearly labeled and will not influence the answers ChatGPT gives, per TechCrunch.
- OpenAI is also expanding ad measurement tools and partnerships and developing ways to judge brand suitability.
- OpenAI added text ads to ChatGPT earlier this year and expanded them to India in August, TechCrunch reports. It cites 1.2 billion weekly ChatGPT users as the eventual audience once ads roll out globally.
What is not clear, per The Register: OpenAI did not say how the ads will show up, whether on screen while an image is generated or after it, or whether the ads are generated on the fly or come from a library advertisers submit. It also did not say how the visual ads will be targeted. OpenAI told The Register it will share more when testing starts.
We could not open OpenAI's own post, so these details come from the two outlets.