OpenAI will begin testing advertisements inside its popular ChatGPT chatbot in the coming weeks, marking a major shift for the artificial intelligence company as it looks to expand revenue, CNBC reports.

The ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT responses and will be clearly labeled, OpenAI said Friday.

The initial test will involve adult users in the United States who use ChatGPT’s free version, as well as users of its newly launched low-cost “Go” plan.

Paid subscriptions — including Plus, Pro, and Enterprise — will remain ad-free.

The move comes as OpenAI continues to scale rapidly.

The company signed more than $1.4 trillion in infrastructure deals in 2025 and has dramatically increased spending to support its growing AI models and data center needs.

CEO Sam Altman said late last year that OpenAI was on pace to reach a $20 billion annualized revenue run rate.

Introducing advertising could help offset infrastructure and software development costs, following a path long taken by other major technology firms such as Google and Meta, which rely heavily on digital ad revenue.

OpenAI emphasized that ads will not influence ChatGPT’s responses and that user data will not be sold to advertisers.

The company also said users under 18 will not see ads, and ads will be excluded from sensitive areas such as politics, health, and mental health topics.

Altman has previously expressed caution about adding ads to ChatGPT, warning that advertising could undermine user trust.

However, the AI industry leader has also acknowledged that ads were likely to be tested at some point, even if they are not expected to become the company’s primary source of revenue.

As part of the rollout, OpenAI said users will be able to see why a particular ad is shown, dismiss ads, and provide feedback to help shape how advertising is handled going forward.

“We’ll learn from feedback and refine how ads show up over time,” OpenAI said, adding that its focus on user trust “won’t change.”