ChatGPT will show visual ads while you generate images

ChatGPT's ads are getting pictures.

OpenAI said on Monday that a limited group of US advertisers will start placing visual ads alongside image generation in ChatGPT later in October, BleepingComputer reports. OpenAI's own words, as quoted there: "Ads will be clearly labeled, and remain separate from the image being created."

The new slot sits next to your image

The format uses images to show product inspiration, how a product is used or the experience a service offers, according to BleepingComputer. The test starts in the US only, with an initial group of advertisers.

OpenAI also says "ads do not influence ChatGPT's answers." That line matters more as the ads get more visual and sit closer to what you are making.

TechCrunch reports that ads run on ChatGPT's free and low-cost tiers, and that OpenAI is expanding measurement for advertisers. The attribution partners it lists include AppsFlyer, Adjust, Branch and Kochava. OpenAI is also running brand suitability pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science, TechCrunch says.

Image generation is the obvious place for it

Think about when you generate an image. You are often shopping in your head already: a living room, an outfit, a logo for a product you are about to launch. That is intent an advertiser will pay for.

So the placement is deliberate. Image generation is the most commercial moment in the product.

The measurement news says the same thing louder. Conversion tracking and attribution partners are what an ad business adds when it wants performance budgets, not just brand tests. ChatGPT is being built into an ad platform. Full stop.

Free products have always been paid for somehow, and a labeled ad is an honest way to do it. If you use ChatGPT for free, know what the trade now looks like.

What it means for you

If you use ChatGPT on a free or low-cost plan in the US, expect a labeled visual ad near your images once the test starts later this month. Treat it the way you would treat a sponsored result in search: useful sometimes, never neutral.

If you run marketing, this is a new surface worth a test budget once it opens wider. The intent is high and the measurement partners are the ones you already use.

If you pay for a higher tier, check your plan's terms rather than assuming. Neither report says which plans will see the new format first.

What to watch

Watch when the test opens beyond the first advertisers and beyond the US. Then watch whether ads move from beside the image into the conversation itself.

Know which side of the paywall you are on.