CINCINNATI — OpenAI will begin testing advertisements in ChatGPT's free version and its new $8 monthly ChatGPT Go tier, forcing users to pay at least $20 per month to avoid ads entirely.
The testing period will begin in late January to early February, marking another major shift in how digital platforms monetize their services. OpenAI says ads will appear below responses when there's a relevant sponsored product or service related to the current conversation.
New subscription structure creates clear divisions
ChatGPT's expanded pricing structure now creates four distinct consumer tiers:
| Tier | Price | Features | Ad Experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Basic access | Ads included |
| ChatGPT Go | $8/month | GPT-5.2 Instant, 10x usage, memory, uploads, image creation | Ads included |
| ChatGPT Plus | $20/month | GPT-5.2 Thinking for deeper reasoning, higher limits, coding tools | Ad-free |
| ChatGPT Pro | $200/month | Full GPT-5.2 Pro access, maximum memory/context, early features | Ad-free |
Business and Enterprise plans will also remain completely ad-free.
How ChatGPT ads will work
The advertisements will be contextually relevant to user queries and clearly labeled as sponsored content, according to OpenAI.
OpenAI has established specific principles for its advertising approach:
Ad placement and relevance:
- Ads appear below responses when relevant to the conversation
- Users can dismiss ads, provide feedback and learn why an ad was shown
Privacy and control protections:
- User conversations remain private from advertisers
- No personal data is sold to third parties
- Users can turn off personalization and clear ad-related data anytime
- Ads won't influence the content or accuracy of ChatGPT's responses
Content restrictions:
- No ads for users under 18 years old
- No ads near sensitive topics like health, mental health or politics
- All ads will be clearly marked and visually separated from organic answers
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Consumer pushback
I wanted to hear your thoughts about this change, so I asked you: If ChatGPT starts showing ads, would you:
- Stop using it altogether
- Pay to keep it ad-free
- Keep using the free version with ads
64% of survey participants said they'd stop using ChatGPT altogether.
"Consumers are becoming more sensitive to prices … they're being more critical about where their dollars go," said Abdullah Al-Bahrani, an economist with Northern Kentucky University's Haile College of Business.
WATCH: How users will see advertisements appear in ChatGPT
Broader industry trend
The move reflects a growing pattern across digital services, where companies are forcing users to choose between paying higher prices or accepting advertising interruptions.
Sara Drabik, program head of media and journalism at NKU, draws parallels to the streaming industry's evolution.
"The options for literally no ads probably aren't going to be there, or they're going to be more embedded within the content," Drabik said.
OpenAI says the addition of ads will help offset growing infrastructure costs while keeping the platform accessible to users worldwide.
I asked ChatGPT if ads would be removed if they get enough subscription cancellations or negative feedback. It responded saying it's possible ads would be reduced, but it's unlikely ads would be fully removed due to those high operating costs.
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