Code reveals OpenAI could be preparing to introduce ads to ChatGPT

[midian182]

TL;DR: With around 800 million weekly users, 95% of whom are on the free tier, it's somewhat surprising that OpenAI has never introduced ads to its incredibly popular chatbot. But based on some newly discovered code, it appears that will soon change.

Developer Tibor Blaho was digging into the code in a beta version of ChatGPT's Android app when he found some new lines that suggest the impending arrival of ads to the service.

The 1.2025.329 beta version includes references to an ads feature, bazaar content, search ad, and search ads carousel. The final version of the app isn't yet available to the public, but the discovery does suggest that OpenAI is getting ready to generate some extra revenue from the hundreds of millions of people on its free tier.

OpenAI has imported approximately 630 former Meta employees representing about 20% of its roughly 3,000 staff according to LinkedIn data analyzed by The Information, with OpenAI's Slack having a channel just for former Meta employees according to a current employee and many… https://t.co/OGklBb2Odj pic.twitter.com/fah7Bii7pR

– Tibor Blaho (@btibor91) October 24, 2025

Reports that OpenAI was considering adding ads to ChatGPT first appeared in The Information earlier this month. The publication wrote that Sam Altman's firm has hired around 630 former Meta employees, about 20% of its 3,000 employees, and has a Slack channel devoted to Meta alums.

OpenAI is reportedly considering whether ChatGPT could show ads based on its knowledge of users gathered from memory or previous chats – targeted advertising, basically.

Focus groups have revealed that some users already think ChatGPT has ads – a finding that some OpenAI staff are using as justification for introducing them.

OpenAI boss Altman previously appeared to be against ads, calling them "uniquely unsettling" and a "last resort." But he recently changed his stance, saying on the first episode of the OpenAI podcast that he wasn't totally against ads but hadn't figured out a way to embed them into the company's products.

While the code doesn't reveal any details, it's likely that the ads will appear in ChatGPT's free tier, following the same strategy as streaming services that subsidize their cheaper plans with ads.

ChatGPT's free and paid tiers differ mainly in power, speed, features, and reliability. The free version offers basic access but comes with message limits, occasional slowdowns during busy periods, and reduced access to advanced tools or the newest AI models. OpenAI will likely hope the introduction of ads would be the final push that moves some users onto paid plans.

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Code reveals OpenAI could be preparing to introduce ads to ChatGPT

 

[Dr Roboto]

If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product.

 

[yRaz]

If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product.

I mean, they have stated that they don't expect to make a profit until at least 2030 and I don't think investors like the idea of burning hundreds of billions of dollars a year with no return. That said, I doubt they will even see a fraction of the money they need from advertising.

 

[Dr Roboto]

I mean, they have stated that they don't expect to make a profit until at least 2030 and I don't think investors like the idea of burning hundreds of billions of dollars a year with no return. That said, I doubt they will even see a fraction of the money they need from advertising.

Just an FYI from a quick internet search. Most of the money driving these companies is from advertisements. It is mind blowing how much these tech companies and thus their stock prices is almost completely ads.

"Google's advertising revenue was approximately $264.6 billion in 2024, a significant portion of its parent company's total revenue, which was reported as $348.16 billion for the year. "

"Meta's advertising revenue for 2024 was approximately $160.6 billion, representing a significant increase from the previous year."

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Another quick search on OpenAI's annual budget for comparison.
"Projected annual spending is estimated to reach $28 billion or more"

$28 billion divided by 800 million weekly users = $35 per user over a year.

 

[Axeia]

With how much it costs to run AI queries in electricity/cooling they're either not going to cover the costs or be extremely obnoxious.
For text queries they'll put a dent in the costs at least.

For image or even video generation, if they want to offset those costs with ads the only way I see it working is if they do it mobile game style and FORCE you to watch several unskippable video format ads.

It should have been clear to anyone that it's been too good to be true for a while now. I mean when even recipe sites (which were free to visit and barely any or no ads back in the early days of the internet) have dozens of ads and resort to things like putting the ingredients and steps/cooking times at the end so they're sure you see all of those ads... then how would these AI chats ever stay free.
Serving a simple cached HTML site with a recipe has close to no costs. Per user queries running from an expensive GPU in an expensive data center requiring expensive cooling solutions are going to cost a lot. They can't be free.

Betcha that by 2030 it's as bad an experience ad-wise as YouTube - which imo you don't use unless you absolutely have to if you don't have premium or ublock origin. And they're just serving video, which admittedly costs a lot of bandwidth but not much else.

 

[yRaz]

Just an FYI from a quick internet search. Most of the money driving these companies is from advertisements. It is mind blowing how much these tech companies and thus their stock prices is almost completely ads.

"Google's advertising revenue was approximately $264.6 billion in 2024, a significant portion of its parent company's total revenue, which was reported as $348.16 billion for the year. "

"Meta's advertising revenue for 2024 was approximately $160.6 billion, representing a significant increase from the previous year."

---

Another quick search on OpenAI's annual budget for comparison.
"Projected annual spending is estimated to reach $28 billion or more"

$28 billion divided by 800 million weekly users = $35 per user over a year.

There isn't suddenly going to be more advertising revenue to be made just because AI exists. If Google is making $300B/yr from search, they aren't going to suddenly add, say $30b/yr to that from AI. It's more like the $30b they're making from AI is going to come from a decrease in search Ad revenue.

The problem is that they have all the costs associated with AI while they are likely to not generate any more revenue than they would if they didn't invest tons of money in AI. They're just moving Ad revenue from Point A to Point B

 

[Theinsanegamer]

There isn't suddenly going to be more advertising revenue to be made just because AI exists. If Google is making $300B/yr from search, they aren't going to suddenly add, say $30b/yr to that from AI. It's more like the $30b they're making from AI is going to come from a decrease in search Ad revenue.

The problem is that they have all the costs associated with AI while they are likely to not generate any more revenue than they would if they didn't invest tons of money in AI. They're just moving Ad revenue from Point A to Point B

They will if advertisers are willing to pay it.

 

[scoffer]

Brave + Adguard + uBlock origin + Ghostery + Privacy Badger +Bitdefender anti-tracker..............works a treat. Haven't seen an ad on my pc for years. But I don't use that so-called "AI" garbage anyway.