OpenAI announces visual ads alongside ChatGPT image generation results

OpenAI is adding visual advertising to ChatGPT's image generation experience. According to TechCrunch, the company said the ads will appear after image generation results, with the United States the only initial market.

This builds on an existing advertising business rather than introducing ads to ChatGPT for the first time. The Register reported that OpenAI added text-based ads earlier this year.

On October 5, OpenAI announced the new image-based format in a blog post, Mashable Tech reported. The announcement also included expanded measurement partnerships for advertisers.

The same day, The Verge reported that the ads would display images of sponsored products and services. Testing is scheduled to begin in the US later in October, initially around image generation.

Reports differed on the precise placement and timing. BleepingComputer described ads appearing while users generate images, while TechCrunch said they would appear after the results. The supplied coverage does not resolve that distinction.

Also on October 5, Digital Trends reported that guardrails would first judge whether a conversation was emotionally vulnerable before an ad appeared. The Next Web described checks for both emotional vulnerability and sensitive conversations.

The scale of the image feature helps explain the commercial interest. An October 5 headline from Inc.com Startups put ChatGPT's output at three billion images a week and reported new options for advertisers to track whether ads work.

As of October 7, the coverage describes an announced format with a US test still scheduled for later this month, not a completed rollout. DEV Community reported that the visual ads are designed to appear next to image generation outputs and would first be tested in the United States.

The immediate change is to the advertising shown around the image experience. The supplied reports do not establish that sponsored products will be inserted into the images users ask ChatGPT to create.

The next concrete step is the US test later in October. Its implementation should clarify whether users see ads during generation, after results appear, or both, a distinction the current reports leave unsettled.

The sensitivity checks and advertiser measurement tools also need closer scrutiny once testing begins. The coverage describes their purpose but provides little detail about how the checks operate or what the expanded measurement partnerships will measure.