AI and ML
OpenAI mockup of advertising in ChatGPT
ChatGPT Ads, I wish I knew how to quit you
OpenAI appears to be serving ads after buyers have halted their campaigns, and charging them for the privilege.OpenAI began testing ad sales in ChatGPT in the US back in February and has been gradually expanding the service in other regions, including the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea as of Tuesday. Given that a substantial minority of ChatGPT user base pays for the service (50 million out of 900 million weekly users as of February 2026), advertising revenue appears to be an important part of OpenAI's plan to defray the cost of providing its service and to convince investors that it has a path to profitability ahead of a future initial public offering.Online ad-marts from the likes of Google and Facebook give advertisers control over when and where their ads will appear, but don't always stick to instructions. The AI biz's ad service appears to have similar ad timing and billing accuracy issues.
Ed Bolton, managing director of UK-based Excel4Business, told The Register that his company encountered "an odd billing practice" when it started experimenting with ChatGPT Ads in the US and Canada.
