By Creati.ai Editorial Team
In a decisive shift that could reshape the digital advertising landscape, OpenAI has officially begun testing advertisements within its flagship product, ChatGPT. This move, long anticipated by industry observers, has prompted bullish forecasts from Wall Street, with a top analyst predicting the AI giant’s ad business alone could generate $25 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
As OpenAI introduces a new low-cost subscription tier and opens its platform to marketers, the company is effectively firing a warning shot across the bow of Google and Meta, signaling that the era of conversational advertising has arrived.
Mark Mahaney, a Senior Analyst at Evercore ISI, issued a report this week projecting that OpenAI is on a trajectory to become a major force in the global advertising market. According to Mahaney, if the rollout proceeds smoothly, OpenAI’s ad revenue could scale from billions in 2026 to approximately $25 billion by the end of the decade.
The prediction is grounded in the sheer scale of ChatGPT’s user base and the high commercial potential of "intent-based" queries. Unlike traditional display ads that rely on passive impressions, ChatGPT users often engage in deep, goal-oriented conversations—planning trips, researching software, or finding products—creating a prime environment for high-performance marketing.
"Achieving billions of dollars in advertising revenue by 2026 and reaching over $25 billion by 2030 seems like a reasonable development trajectory," Mahaney stated, noting the platform's ability to capture high-intent users.
While $25 billion is a massive figure, it still represents a fraction of the incumbents' dominance. Mahaney estimates that by 2025, Google’s search and YouTube businesses could generate nearly $300 billion combined, with Meta trailing at $180 billion. However, OpenAI’s entry introduces a new variable: a shift from keyword-based search to conversational discovery, a transition that could chip away at Google’s core monopoly.
Central to this strategy is the launch of ChatGPT Go, a new subscription tier priced at $8 per month. Originally tested in markets like India, the "Go" plan has now expanded globally, including to the United States.
This tier serves as a middle ground between the free version and the premium $20/month Plus plan. It offers enhanced features—such as 10x more messages and file uploads than the free tier—but crucially, it remains ad-supported.
Comparison of ChatGPT Subscription Tiers
| Plan Name | Price (Monthly) | Ad Status | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free | $0 | Ads Included | Standard access to base models, limited usage. |
| ChatGPT Go | $8 | Ads Included | 10x usage limits, faster access (GPT-5.2 Instant), extended memory. |
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 | Ad-Free | Access to advanced "Thinking" models, image generation, data analysis. |
| ChatGPT Pro | $200 | Ad-Free | Unlimited high-speed access, maximum context window for power users. |
OpenAI has clarified that ads will currently only appear for free users and ChatGPT Go subscribers. The testing phase is rolling out in the U.S. over the coming weeks, targeting logged-in adult users.
The introduction of ads into a product often used for personal advice, coding, and creative writing raises significant privacy and ethical concerns. OpenAI is acutely aware of the "trust gap" it risks creating.
Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications and a former executive at Meta, emphasized that the company is taking a "principles-first" approach. In a statement, Simo assured users that advertising and intelligence would remain strictly separate.
Key Ad Policies Announced by OpenAI:
"We prioritize user trust and user experience over revenue," the company stated, attempting to distinguish its model from social media platforms often accused of maximizing engagement at the expense of user well-being.
The pivot to advertising is driven by harsh economic realities. Despite generating an estimated $20 billion in annualized revenue in 2025 (up from just $2 billion in 2023), OpenAI faces astronomical costs. The infrastructure required to train and run frontier models like GPT-5 and beyond requires capital expenditure in the hundreds of billions, potentially reaching trillions over the next decade.
Subscription revenue alone has proven insufficient to cover these costs while maintaining rapid growth. A vast majority of ChatGPT’s estimated 800 million+ users are on the free tier. Monetizing this massive segment through ads is not just an opportunity; it is likely a financial necessity for the company to achieve profitability and sustain its research ambitions.
The launch of ads on ChatGPT marks a pivotal moment for the digital economy. For years, Google has reigned supreme because it controlled the "entry point" to the internet. If ChatGPT becomes the primary interface for information discovery, ad dollars will inevitably follow the eyeballs.
However, the transition will not be without friction. Users accustomed to a clean, ad-free interface may push back, and privacy advocates will closely scrutinize how OpenAI uses conversation history to target ads.
As analysts like Mahaney predict, the prize is lucrative. If OpenAI can successfully balance user trust with advertiser demand, it won't just be an AI company—it will become one of the world's largest media businesses by 2030.
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