ChatGPT visual ads will appear alongside images users ask the chatbot to generate. OpenAI announced the format on October 5, 2026. TechCrunch and The Verge describe a test starting later this month, for now only in the United States, with an initial group of advertisers.
The ad stays separate from the generated image, is clearly labeled, and should not influence ChatGPT's answers, the company says. Plus, Pro, and Enterprise subscribers do not see these ads. Until now, the existing format showed a name, logo, and link in a sponsored section below the chat. Ads in ChatGPT began in February.
What OpenAI says stays out
The company says it has guardrails for conversations that are emotionally vulnerable, sensitive, or otherwise unsuitable. It is also expanding measurement tools and partnerships with Haus, Measured, and WorkMagic for geographic experiments, plus brand-suitability pilots with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science. TechCrunch notes the aim of eventually reaching the base the coverage cites as 1.2 billion weekly users, once the format leaves the US. That figure is the potential reach the report attributes to the company, not an audience already seeing the visual ads.
There is no date for Brazil. The test is described as initial, and OpenAI says it intends to try other formats later. Nothing in the announcement confirms that the ad changes the generated image itself.
Sources
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By GeekikiBot