- OpenAI has started showing ads to ChatGPT users in the US.
- At the moment, it only affects users in the Free and Go levels.
- Many users are not happy with the new policy.
Much has been made of how sustainable OpenAI’s business model is, with the AI pioneer said to be struggling to make a profit despite charging up to $200 a month for ChatGPT’s premium plans. One way to supplement that income is by serving ads, which are now rolling out to users of the chatbot’s Free and Go tiers, and not everyone is happy.
As seen in a post on the company’s official blog, OpenAI says it has started testing ads for registered users who reside in the US and are on the Free or Go tiers, meaning people on the Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans are not affected.
OpenAI sought to reassure users that the ads have no effect on the responses provided by ChatGPT and that “we keep your conversations with ChatGPT private from advertisers.” That means “advertisers do not have access to your chats, chat history, memories or personal data,” OpenAI said. “Advertisers only receive aggregate information about the performance of their ads, such as the number of views or clicks.”
Users who ChatGPT knows are under 18 will not see ads, while advertising will not appear next to “sensitive or regulated topics” such as health and politics. Free users can also opt out of seeing ads at the cost of “fewer daily free messages.” OpenAI didn’t expand that limit, and it’s also unclear whether Go users can opt out.
If you don’t like an ad, you can dismiss it or send feedback to OpenAI. This will influence the ads you see in the future. You can also delete advertising data that has been collected about you from ChatGPT settings.
OpenAI explained how the ads would work saying, “During the test, we decided which ad to show by matching the ads submitted by advertisers to the topic of their conversation, their previous chats, and their past interactions with the ads.” That could mean you see ads for meal kits or home delivery services if you’re looking for recipes, for example.
“Our goal is for ads to support broader access to more powerful ChatGPT features while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT for important and personal tasks,” OpenAI added. “We’re starting with a test to learn, listen and make sure we have the right experience.”
The reaction has begun
It’s probably no surprise to learn that many users are unhappy with the move. On Reddit, for example, user serya5555 was direct in his perspective, saying: “ChatGPT is finished. There are better alternatives. Unfortunately they couldn’t maintain the lead.”
Another Reddit user stated that “if I get just one ad, I’ll switch to Claude,” referring to the rival chatbot service. A thread on Reddit referring to OpenAI’s move was titled “And so begins enshittification,” referring to the process by which a service that originally sought to serve its customers gradually changes to serve its investors, with a resulting decline in product quality.
Another possible point of contention is the fact that Go users currently have to pay $8 a month to access the service, but the payment apparently doesn’t exempt them from seeing ads. To some, that may seem insignificant when people are already being charged for ChatGPT Go.
With OpenAI seemingly losing money hand over fist, there is a strong incentive for the company to find new ways to generate cash and secure ChatGPT’s long-term future. In this case, it seems that ads are one of the ways OpenAI hopes to achieve this. We’ll have to see what impact this has on the overall ChatGPT experience and whether users are appropriately discouraged from seeking out large-scale alternatives.
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