OPENAI
The free era of ChatGPT just blinked
For some time, people inside and outside the tech world have been asking how OpenAI plans to make money.
This week, the company shared part of the answer: advertising.
OpenAI announced it will start testing limited ads inside ChatGPT.
In a blog post published on Friday, OpenAI said ads will be tested in the US for free users and for its new Go plan, which costs $8 a month and launched globally the same day.
The company says this is meant to help keep ChatGPT free for people who don’t want to subscribe.
More expensive plans; Pro, Plus, Business and Enterprise, will not include ads for now.
In short:
Ads are coming to ChatGPT’s free and Go tiers, while paid plans stay ad-free.
Users will have control over ad settings and personalisation.
OpenAI says ads won’t influence responses or involve selling user data.
No one’s shocked
Ads will appear at the bottom of a conversation and will be related to the topic being discussed.
Users will be able to dismiss ads, see why certain ads are shown, and turn off personalisation to reduce targeting.
OpenAI also says it will not show ads to users it believes are under 18.
The company has stated that ads will not affect ChatGPT’s answers and that user data will not be sold to advertisers.
From a business POV, the change could work in two ways.
Ads create a new source of income from free and low-cost users, while some people may choose to update to paid plans to avoid seeing them.
OpenAI says the move supports its wider mission of making advanced AI beneficial to society.
Some of you will upgrade, some of you will … cope.- MG