OpenAI has confirmed the introduction of advertisements in ChatGPT, starting with U.S. users of the free version and gradually expanding globally. This change will also affect the new ChatGPT Go plan, the company's most affordable subscription, launching this week worldwide. Despite previous statements from Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, expressing his personal opposition to advertising, the decision was expected. ChatGPT revolutionized access to generative AI since its launch in 2022, and as is common with successful services, initial free access is giving way to monetization models, whether through subscriptions, data management, or ads. This shift marks a strategic turn for OpenAI, which has primarily relied on subscription revenue until now. However, financial pressure is mounting ahead of an impending IPO and the enormous investments needed to expand AI infrastructure, amid a semiconductor shortage affecting the entire tech industry. OpenAI justifies the introduction of ads as a measure to maintain free access to ChatGPT: “Our goal remains to create products that millions of people and businesses value enough to pay for. Our subscription and enterprise businesses are strong, but we believe in a diversified revenue model where advertising helps make intelligence more accessible,” the company states. With over 800 million active weekly users, advertising promises to be a significant revenue source. However, there is a risk that some users may reject this measure, which could affect trust and growth on the platform, especially with competition from alternatives like Gemini, Claude, or Copilot. To mitigate rejection, OpenAI has established clear principles: it will not sell user data to advertisers, and ChatGPT's responses will be independent of ads. Additionally, users will be able to disable ad personalization, and ads will appear in two initial formats. The first will show ads at the end of responses when there are related sponsored products or services, always clearly identified and separate from ChatGPT-generated content. Users will be able to know why they see a specific ad or dismiss it with their feedback. Ads on sensitive topics like health or politics will not be shown. In the future, ChatGPT is expected to allow direct interaction with advertisers within the assistant, facilitating inquiries before making purchases or reservations. Advertising will be present in both the free version and ChatGPT Go, which debuts in India and will expand to other countries. This plan, costing $8 per month, offers ten times more interactions than the free version, access to the GPT-5.2 model, and greater memory capacity. The Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans will remain ad-free.