It seems inevitable that Sam Altman will bring ads to ChatGPT. When will it happen - and what will they look like?

"ChatGPT turned three years old the other day, which means we've spent three years in an AI frenzy. It also means hundreds of millions of people have been using ChatGPT for years and ... not seeing any ads at all, whether they're using the paid version or the free one. That's not totally astonishing: We've gotten used to consumer internet products like Google, Facebook, and Instagram taking off without ads for a few years. And then, the deluge."

"So how much longer will ChatGPT remain ad-free? And what happens when it isn't? Over the weekend, we got a hint that an ad push may be underway, via some code from ChatGPT's Android app unearthed by developer Tibor Blaho: Scouring apps for yet-to-be-released features is a long-standing tech hobby, and sometimes it really does yield results. It's also entirely possible that what Blaho found is ... something other than an ad product road map."

"We know this in part because OpenAI executives, starting with Sam Altman, have suggested they will be coming (in 2024, Altman said ads were gross; this year, he allowed that maybe OpenAI could make "some cool ad product"). We know it because OpenAI has been stocking itself with talent from Meta - one of the most successful advertising companies in the world. And we know it because it's simply logical: Altman says ChatGPT has around 800 million weekly users."

ChatGPT has operated ad-free for three years despite hundreds of millions of users across free and paid tiers. App code unearthed by a developer suggests an ad push may be underway, though the code could indicate something else. OpenAI executives, including Sam Altman, have shifted from dismissing ads to suggesting an ad product could be possible. OpenAI has hired advertising talent from Meta, and focus groups indicate some users already assume ads influence results. ChatGPT has roughly 800 million weekly users with a small paying percentage, making advertising a logical revenue strategy to monetize non-paying users.

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