ChatGPT ads hit $100M
OpenAI’s ChatGPT ad pilot reached an annualized $100 million in revenue just six weeks after launch, reinforcing how productized AI monetization is accelerating. That rapid inflow changes the funding and product calculus for AI teams and startups. (coincentral.com)
OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT in January with the rollout targeted at free users and ChatGPT Go subscribers. (cnbc.com)) A company spokesperson provided details to reporters in late March about the U.S. ad pilot’s configuration and early advertiser interest. (msn.com)) OpenAI said it is working with more than 600 advertisers and that sponsored messages appear beneath ChatGPT responses, are clearly labeled, and are engineered not to influence the model’s answers; the company also barred ads for users under 18 and around certain sensitive topics such as politics and health. (cnbc.com)) About 85% of ChatGPT’s estimated 94.7 million U.S. users are eligible to see ads, yet the company reports that under 20% of eligible users are shown ads on a typical day; Comscore data cited shows ChatGPT had 72.9 million U.S. unique visitors in January 2026. (emarketer.com)) OpenAI plans to open self-serve advertiser access in April, is asking for insertion-order commitments from brands, and has confirmed plans to expand testing into Canada, New Zealand and Australia. (searchengineland.com)) Several participating advertisers have flagged frustration with the program’s slow, conservative rollout and limited measurement, with early reported click-through rates as low as 0.91% per agency reporting compared with roughly 6.4% benchmarks cited for search ads. (emarketer.com))
