ChatGPT Ad Policy: OpenAI Denies Ads On Paid ChatGPT Plans After Social Media Uproar

ChatGPT Advertising Policy: OpenAI has strongly disproved allegations that ads are being displayed to paid versions of ChatGPT, following widespread allegations prompted by screenshots circulating online. Images showed promotional content appearing beneath responses even from subscribers of ChatGPT Plus subscription plans, prompting speculation that advertisements had infiltrated premium tiers without anyone's knowledge.

According to OpenAI executives, these claims are either misleading or incorrect.

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How the Controversy Started

The issue gained traction on December 3 after an X user, @BenjaminDEKR, posted screenshots showing what looked like a Target shopping prompt appearing below a ChatGPT response while researching Windows BitLocker. The user claimed to be on a paid Plus subscription and questioned why unrelated commercial content was showing up during a technical query.

I'm in ChatGPT (paid Plus subscription), asking about Windows BitLocker

and it's F-ing showing me ADS TO SHOP AT TARGET.

Yeah, screw this. Lose all your users. pic.twitter.com/2Z5AG8pnlJ

— Benjamin De Kraker (@BenjaminDEKR) December 3, 2025

The post quickly went viral, crossing half a million views and triggering concern among users who expect an ad-free experience on paid plans.

OpenAI’s Initial Explanation

Daniel McAuley, a data scientist at OpenAI, responded first and said the content in question was not an advertisement. Instead, he explained that it came from an app integration. OpenAI has been testing third-party apps from select pilot partners since DevDay, and Target was one of them.

According to McAuley, ChatGPT was experimenting with more “organic” discovery of these apps inside conversations.

This explanation did not settle the debate. The original poster countered that when a brand appears unprompted in an unrelated conversation and nudges users to shop, it functions like an ad, regardless of how it is labelled.

OpenAI Admits UX Misstep, Pauses the Feature

OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer, Mark Chen, later stepped in and acknowledged the frustration. In a post on X, Chen said that anything within ChatGPT that feels like an advertisement “needs to be handled with care”, admitting that in this case, the company fell short.

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Chen confirmed that OpenAI has temporarily disabled any brand-related suggestions while improving the model's precision, as well as working to develop user controls that would enable people to reduce or shut off these suggestions if they reappear in the future.

No Ads Currently Running, Says OpenAI

Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, later issued a clearer statement to calm concerns. He confirmed that OpenAI is not running any active ad tests on ChatGPT, including paid tiers.

According to Turley, screenshots circulating online are either false ads or being misconstrued as genuine. He suggested that should OpenAI ever decide to add ads in the future, their approach would be deliberate and respectful of user trust.

OpenAI maintains that ChatGPT remains free from ads for paid users and any experiments which blur this boundary are being reversed.