OpenAI’s ChatGPT ads hit $1 billion as Israel remains outside the global rollout
The advertising business reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in less than 200 days, with ads now available in more than 40 countries. The latest expansion covers India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, but not Israel.
OpenAI’s advertising business has reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate less than 200 days after ads were launched in ChatGPT, the company announced Monday, giving the AI giant a rapidly growing new source of revenue from its enormous free user base.
“In less than 200 days after launch, ChatGPT Ads has reached $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate,” OpenAI said. “The platform is now used by tens of thousands of advertisers and continues to expand globally.”
The company said advertisers can now purchase ChatGPT ads directly through its Ads Manager across India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. ChatGPT Ads are already available in more than 40 countries through OpenAI’s advertising team and its agency and technology partners.
Israel is not among the markets where the advertising service is currently available.
OpenAI began integrating ads into ChatGPT in the U.S. in February, a controversial step as the company sought to diversify its revenue beyond subscriptions and enterprise products. The move also gives OpenAI a way to monetize users of the free version of ChatGPT as the company continues to invest heavily in developing and scaling its AI products.
Advertising is now one of several pillars of OpenAI’s business model, alongside consumer subscriptions, enterprise offerings and usage-based APIs.
“Together, these offerings give people, developers, and businesses choice in how they access OpenAI products, including an advertising-supported free tier that helps keep ChatGPT available to more than 1 billion weekly active users,” the company said.
The scale of that audience is central to the advertising strategy. Unlike traditional search advertising, OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT ads around conversations in which users are already exploring a decision, rather than around a conventional list of search results.
“People come to ChatGPT with clear goals,” OpenAI said. “They might be choosing software for their business, learning a new language, planning a renovation, looking for a job, or exploring a new hobby.”
The company said ChatGPT can help users “frame the decision, establish criteria, understand alternatives, and move closer to taking action,” arguing that this creates an opportunity for advertisers to participate in the process.
Under OpenAI’s current system, ads use the context of the conversation to determine what advertisements may be relevant. Depending on the country and a user’s settings, the system may also use information from the user’s broader ChatGPT experience.
OpenAI said its advertising system is designed to keep advertisements separate from the answers generated by ChatGPT.
“Ads in ChatGPT are always clearly labeled and separate from ChatGPT’s answers,” the company said. “Advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides.”
It also said advertisers do not receive access to users’ private conversations and that users can control how their advertising experience is personalized.
The company’s advertising operation is becoming increasingly international. OpenAI said advertisers outside the U.S. now represent a growing share of advertising revenue, while many of its largest clients are using ChatGPT Ads across multiple markets.
The advertiser base is also broadening beyond large companies. OpenAI said the introduction of Ads Manager in May opened the platform to small and medium-sized businesses, which now account for a “material share” of the business.
The company said it has expanded its advertising ecosystem to more than 50 technology and measurement partners. It has also introduced tools including product feeds, geographic and platform targeting, custom audiences and outcome-optimized bidding.
The rapid expansion comes less than a year after OpenAI began testing the business. The company is now preparing for another phase of expansion, with plans to introduce additional advertising formats, objectives, purchasing options and measurement capabilities.
“Our next phase of growth will bring ChatGPT Ads to more markets and introduce additional formats, objectives, buying options, and measurement capabilities,” OpenAI said. “We will also explore new ways for businesses to interact with consumers in more native ways in ChatGPT.”
