In the future, ChatGPT may show ads to non-subscription users

ChatGPT, OpenAI's popular chatbot, is free to use, despite having a paid version with more features. Currently, even the free version is ad-free, but that could change in the future as the company behind the platform looks to increase its profits.

OpenAI Considers Putting Ads on ChatGPT

In an interview with the Financial Times, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar did not rule out the possibility of showing ads to unpaid ChatGPT users in the future, although the company has many concerns about it. The executive sees advertising as a way to boost profits because the cost of running AI servers is high.

While OpenAI is currently valued at over $150 billion, the company is said to have spent $5 billion on training AI this year.

Selling ad space on ChatGPT could be a way to monetize the platform and keep it accessible to free users. Earlier this year, OpenAI hired several advertising talents from Meta and Google, confirming the company’s plans. However, Friar says OpenAI needs to “think through when and where” it will implement ads. She also suggested that it won’t happen in the near future.

While the report says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is “warming up to the idea,” Altman has said in the past that he “generally doesn’t like them [ads]” and views ads as a “last resort.”

OpenAI currently charges $20 per month for ChatGPT Plus, a more advanced version of the chatbot that provides access to the latest language models, a higher message limit, and image generation. The company also offers dedicated subscription plans for teams and businesses.

Earlier this year, Apple partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Siri (the feature is coming soon in iOS 18.2). While sources say Apple didn't pay for the deal, the company will push the ChatGPT Plus subscription directly from the iOS Settings app, which should boost sign-ups once the update hits iPhone and iPad users.

The iOS 18.2 update with ChatGPT integration will be released to the public later this month.