OpenAI to test visual ads in ChatGPT images

OpenAI said it would begin testing visual adverts in ChatGPT later this month in the U.S. with an initial group of advertisers. The company said the adverts would appear during image generation and would be labelled separately from the image itself.

OpenAI said the format could use images to show product inspiration, how a product is used or experiences linked to a service. It also said the adverts would not affect ChatGPT’s answers.

The company said ChatGPT now reached 1.2 billion people every week. It said advertising was another route to revenue from users who do not pay for a subscription.

OpenAI said it was adding more tools for advertisers to track whether ads led to purchases or other conversions. It named Hightouch, Tealium and LiveRamp for conversion data, and AppsFlyer, Adjust, Branch, Triple Whale and Kochava as attribution partners.

The company said DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science would work on brand suitability, which it said mattered because the adverts would sit alongside conversations rather than on a normal webpage. OpenAI also said its safeguards were meant to keep adverts out of emotionally vulnerable, sensitive or otherwise unsuitable conversations, and that the partners would not see private user chats while checking those safeguards.