OpenAI expands ChatGPT ads to logged out users amid demand surge
OpenAI has begun showing advertisements to logged out users of ChatGPT, extending its ad rollout beyond previously defined limits and responding to strong demand from advertisers. The move was identified by industry observers and marketing partners, as the company has not issued a formal announcement.
Earlier plans restricted ads to logged in adult users in the United States on free and Go tiers, while paid subscribers remained exempt. Unauthenticated sessions had also been ad free during initial testing, creating a gap that allowed users to avoid sponsored content. That gap now appears closed, with sponsored placements integrated directly into chat responses rather than displayed as traditional banners.
The expansion reflects growing pressure on available advertising inventory. Marketers have reported difficulty allocating budgets due to limited space on the platform, which has rapidly gained scale. ChatGPT now reaches more than 800 million weekly active users, most of them on free plans, making it a major destination for digital attention.
Recent changes indicate a broader push to build an advertising business. OpenAI lowered its minimum campaign spend from roughly $200,000 to $50,000 and introduced a self service ad manager for selected advertisers. The platform charges around $60 per thousand impressions, above typical display advertising rates, and distributes inventory through partners including Criteo and Smartly.
The company also introduced a crawler known as OAI AdsBot to review advertiser landing pages. The tool verifies compliance with platform policies and extracts content to improve ad relevance signals. OpenAI has stated that data collected through this system will not be used to train its generative AI models.
Analysts expect the company’s advertising revenue to remain below $1 billion in the near term but project significant long term growth, potentially exceeding $30 billion by 2030. The expansion into logged out users signals a shift toward scaling ad inventory, though it remains unclear whether the change will become permanent or remain part of ongoing testing.
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