OpenAI has officially entered the ads era. Last month, the company confirmed it would begin showing ads to users on ChatGPT’s Free and Go tiers. Earlier this month, it started rolling out ads to users in the United States, a move that immediately drew attention, especially as rival Anthropic pushed its own high-profile Super Bowl ad campaign.
Speaking on the sidelines of the India AI Summit, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap addressed how the company plans to handle advertising inside ChatGPT. He made it clear that OpenAI sees this as a gradual, carefully managed rollout. According to Lightcap, the company plans to move step by step, focusing heavily on user trust and privacy.
He stressed that OpenAI understands the sensitivity around ads in AI products. For him, getting privacy right and maintaining user confidence sit at the center of the strategy. The company doesn’t want ads to feel intrusive or damaging to the ChatGPT experience.
Lightcap also argued that advertising doesn’t automatically weaken a product. If done thoughtfully, he believes ads can actually enhance the user experience rather than disrupt it. However, he acknowledged that OpenAI is still in the early stages. He suggested that observers give the company a few months to refine the system and see how the rollout evolves.
For now, OpenAI hasn’t shared plans to expand ads beyond the U.S. market.
The ad rollout comes at a tense moment in the AI industry. Earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded sharply to Anthropic’s Super Bowl campaign in a lengthy post on X. He accused the rival company of being dishonest and suggested that its pricing structure limits access to wealthier users. Altman emphasized OpenAI’s commitment to broad access, arguing that free AI tools empower more people. He even claimed that more Texans use ChatGPT for free than the total number of Claude users across the U.S., highlighting what he sees as a difference in scale and mission.
Meanwhile, reports suggest OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT ads as premium inventory. Several outlets say the company charges around $60 per 1,000 impressions, a rate that sits well above typical digital ad pricing. Adweek reported that OpenAI requires a minimum commitment of $200,000 from advertisers. The Information recently revealed that Shopify now allows merchants to run ads inside ChatGPT through its Shop Campaigns network. Early participants reportedly include major brands like Target, Williams Sonoma, and Adobe.
All of this signals a new phase for OpenAI. The company built its reputation on cutting-edge AI research and consumer-friendly tools. Now it faces a new challenge: balancing monetization with trust in one of the most widely used AI products in the world. How well it manages that balance could shape the future of advertising inside AI platforms.
