OpenAI launches ChatGBT ads: Details of the new test
In a move representing a radical shift in its business model, the American company OpenAI has officially announced the start of testing the integration of advertising within ChatGPT, the world's most popular chatbot platform. This announcement, made via the company's blog, confirms previous expectations regarding the company's pursuit of new and sustainable revenue streams in light of the enormous operating costs of artificial intelligence technologies.
Details of the new test in the United States
The company explained that the first phase of this test began on Monday and includes only users in the United States. This measure primarily targets adult users subscribed to the free version of the service, as well as those with low-cost subscriptions. The move aims to capitalize on the platform's broad user base, where free users represent the majority of the total one billion users, while the percentage of paid subscribers remains relatively small.
Users can choose between ads or restrictions
In an effort to preserve the user experience, OpenAI offers an option for users who prefer not to see ads: they can disable this feature in the settings. However, this option comes at a price; their interaction with ChatGBT will be limited to a very small number of free messages per day. The company emphasized in its statement that the presence of ads will not affect the accuracy or nature of the AI-generated responses in any way, reassuring users about the neutrality of the information provided.
Economic motives: The high cost of computing
This strategic shift is driven by the company's urgent need to fund its infrastructure. Despite its market capitalization soaring to record levels of $500 billion in the private equity market since 2022, and discussions surrounding a potential $1 trillion initial public offering, the company faces significant financial challenges. Operating and training its advanced AI models is a massive drain on resources due to the exorbitant cost of computing power and energy, making reliance on subscriptions alone insufficient to guarantee sustainable growth.
Fierce competition and advertising war
OpenAI doesn't operate in a vacuum, but rather in a highly competitive market. This competition was on full display during the recent Super Bowl, when rival Anthropic, the developer of the chatbot Cloud, mocked this trend with a television commercial. The ad featured a man seeking advice from a chatbot, only to be interrupted by an advertisement for a fake dating site—a clear jab at the competitors' plans. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the competitor's ad as "funny but misleading," the reality is that OpenAI is now following in the footsteps of tech giants like Google and Meta, who built their empires on advertising revenue to fund their free services.
With this step, the generative artificial intelligence industry enters a new phase, where the balance between providing a high-quality free service and achieving profitability through advertising becomes the new standard that may shape the future of the internet.
