OpenAI says ChatGPT earned $100M from ads
OpenAI reported it has already made about $100 million by adding advertisements to ChatGPT and expects ad revenue to grow substantially. That disclosure highlights a divergence between consumer monetization incentives and enterprise API use. (futurism.com) (help.openai.com)
OpenAI’s ad test inside ChatGPT has already crossed a $100 million annualized revenue run rate less than two months after starting in the United States. (cnbc.com) OpenAI said on January 16 that it planned to test ads for logged-in adults on ChatGPT Free and ChatGPT Go in the United States, then said on February 9 that the pilot had begun. On March 26, the company said the pilot had topped $100 million in annual recurring revenue. (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2) (cnbc.com) The ads appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers, are labeled as sponsored, and are shown only on the Free and Go tiers. OpenAI said Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education plans do not include ads. (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2) OpenAI told investors it expects ad revenue to reach about $2.5 billion in 2026 and $53 billion in 2029, with a $100 billion annual target by 2030, according to Axios and Reuters. Reuters said those projections assume OpenAI’s products reach 2.75 billion weekly users by 2030. (axios.com) (money.usnews.com) The ad push adds a consumer business on top of OpenAI’s existing subscriptions and application programming interface sales. OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar wrote on January 18 that the company’s business now spans subscriptions, workplace plans, application programming interfaces, commerce, and advertising. (openai.com) OpenAI says ads will not affect answers, that conversations are kept private from advertisers, and that users can turn off personalization or pay for an ad-free tier. The company also said it will not show ads to users under 18 or next to politics, health, or mental health topics. (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2) The company said it is working with more than 600 advertisers, while only a slice of eligible users see ads each day. CNBC reported that roughly 85% of Free and Go users in the United States are eligible to see ads, but fewer than 20% are shown them on a daily basis. (cnbc.com) OpenAI is now expanding the pilot beyond the United States, starting with Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and has opened a page for brands that want to advertise in ChatGPT. The company says the pitch is reaching users while they are “actively researching and ready to take action.” (openai.com) (openai.com)
