Claims of Advertisements on ChatGPT Denied by OpenAI

Concerns are mounting among ChatGPT users, who number around 800 million weekly, over rumors that OpenAI has begun rolling out advertisements on the platform. OpenAI's purpose is to advance artificial intelligence for the collective good of humanity.

Images purportedly showing advertisements from Target within the ChatGPT interface are making the rounds on social networks.

Nick Turley, who heads ChatGPT at OpenAI, took to X to counter these claims on Saturday. "There's a lot of misinformation floating around concerning ads on ChatGPT. We're not conducting any ad tests at the moment, and if you've seen screenshots suggesting otherwise, they're erroneous or misinterpretations. Should we venture into advertising, we'll proceed with caution," he clarified. "ChatGPT users have placed their confidence in us, and any steps we take will be carefully considered to honor that trust."

Earlier in the week, an X platform user uploaded an image of what he termed as "ADVTS TO SHOP AT TARGET."

The user, a subscriber of ChatGPT's paid Plus service, noted an unexpected advertisement about shopping at Target while inquiring about Windows BitLocker, expressing his displeasure with, "Yes, this is frustrating. Go ahead, alienate your base."

He further commented, "If this happens to be a feature, I'd like the option to disable it."

It's believed that the screenshot's Target link ties into a freshly introduced shopping feature rather than a company decision to integrate direct advertising onto ChatGPT.

In September's close, OpenAI revealed it was laying down early infrastructure for agentic commerce on ChatGPT, introducing novel methods for collaboration among people, AI, and businesses.

As part of this initiative, an Instant Checkout function in partnership with Stripe was launched, a financial services technology provider.

When asked about shopping, ChatGPT now suggests the most pertinent items from the net, and if Instant Checkout supports those items, users can click a "Purchase" button, as stated on OpenAI's official platform.

However, this doesn't eliminate the future presence of ads on ChatGPT. OpenAI has expressed an interest in potentially enabling advertising, which seems practical given their extensive community, not all of whom pay for services.

A developer named Tibor Blaho uncovered code within ChatGPT's Android app referencing an "ads feature" in X post from late November.

"Exploring software for unrevealed functions is a hobby that sometimes pays off with tangible results. Nonetheless, there's a possibility that the element Blaho identified does not map to an advertising initiative," mentioned Business Insider’s Peter Kafka at the time.

Regardless, a strategy by OpenAI to embed ads in ChatGPT appears to be on pause after Google's recent unveiling of Gemini 3 drew significant positive reception.

Sam Altman, via an internal memo to OpenAI staff, responded to the acclaim by issuing an urgent "code red." The note indicated they would prioritize enhancing ChatGPT, postponing other products and feature releases, including ads, as reported by various outlets.

Attempts to reach De Kraker, Turley, and OpenAI for a commentary were not immediately successful.

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