OpenAI’s experimental advertising initiative for ChatGPT has already surpassed $100 million in annualized revenue within a month and a half of its U.S. launch, a company spokesperson confirmed Thursday, signaling strong early demand for the AI firm’s new ad business.
The Sam Altman-led company first announced in January that it would begin testing ads with a subset of U.S. users, focusing on those in the free tier and the lower-cost Go plan. The move was part of a broader effort to generate revenue from the popular AI chatbot to help offset the steep costs of developing the technology.
According to OpenAI, the advertisements remain separate from ChatGPT’s generated responses and do not influence the chatbot’s outputs. The company also assured that user conversations are not shared with advertisers.
While approximately 85 percent of users are currently eligible to see ads, fewer than 20 percent are shown ads on a daily basis, leaving significant room to expand ad monetization within the existing user base, the spokesperson added.
“We’re seeing no impact on consumer trust metrics, low dismissal rates of ads, and ongoing improvements in the relevance of ads as we learn from feedback,” OpenAI said.
The company plans to extend the ad test to additional countries in the coming weeks, including Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
OpenAI has now grown its advertiser roster to more than 600 businesses, with nearly 80 percent of small- and medium-sized enterprises expressing interest in ChatGPT ads, according to the spokesperson. In April, the company is set to launch self-service advertiser tools aimed at broadening access and fueling further growth.
Earlier this week, OpenAI appointed David Dugan, a former advertising executive at Meta, to lead its global advertising solutions team.
While analysts note that advertising could unlock a significant revenue stream from ChatGPT’s millions of users, they also caution that the approach carries risks, including the potential to alienate some customers and undermine trust in the product.
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