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ChatGPT ads go live: OpenAI tests sponsored responses with select brands

Samira Vishwas | February 21, 2026 11:24 AM CST

OpenAI, the Sam Altman-led company, announced last month that it is planning to show advertisements in ChatGPT. As it turns out, ads are now popping up in AI chatbots’ responses.

In a statement to Adweek, an OpenAI spokesperson said that a handful of brands – including Expedia, Best Buy, Enterprise Mobility and Qualcomm are now running ads inside the AI chatbot.

“We believe ads play an important role in continuing to support broad access to AI. By working closely with partners in this pilot, we’re able to thoughtfully test new ad experiences and learn together to ensure ads are separate and clearly distinct, relevant, and useful while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT”, Asad Awan, OpenAI’s ads and monetisation lead, told the publication.

OpenAI’s early experimentation phase with advertisements in the AI chatbot starts with a handful of brands, but the company is expected to expand its footprint. The company had previously confirmed that it wants advertisers to pay a minimum of $200,000 in the initial period.

The report goes on to say that OpenAI is prioritising restraint over scale, limiting its ad pool to a few advertisers and showing them only in a fraction of queries. According to He was castratedwhich analysed more than 500 prompts on ChatGPT, said that only 0.8% of responses showed ads.

The Sam Altman-led startup has been burning funds at a rapid rate. In the last few years, the company has tried various revenue sources, but to date, it has been relying on subscriptions to earn money. But with advertisements now in the mix, the AI startup may compete against other advertising giants like Google and Meta in the coming years.

While some AI startups like OpenAI are going the ad route, some like Anthropic and Perplexity have said that they won’t be pushing ads in their AI chatbot as it might erode user trust.