In example screenshots shared by the firm, the ads look like banners.
OpenAI says they will not influence ChatGPT’s responses and the firm will not share data about conversations with advertisers.
It said it had decided to explore ads “so more people can benefit from our tools with fewer usage limits”.
However there is also growing speculation that the AI sector has been over-valued by keen investors and hype, and has yet to actually demonstrate much in the way of profit.
Some analysts predict this “bubble” is unsustainable and could soon burst.
Henry Ajder, an expert in AI, Deepfakes and synthetic media, said OpenAI’s decision to explore ad revenue was not a surprise.
“OpenAI is a company that’s seen a huge amount of growth in terms of users in the last few years but it continues to burn investor money – it is not a profit making entity,” he said.
“And so, for this company to start actually turning a profit, it has to find more revenue sources from somewhere other than just standard paying subscribers. And for many software businesses, advertising is a revenue source which is reliable.”
