OpenAI Takes ChatGPT Ads to 89 Countries, 100,000+ Advertisers

OpenAI said Tuesday that more than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns on ChatGPT since the company switched on paid placements roughly eight months ago, up from about 20,000 in late August. The company is also pushing ChatGPT ads into 26 additional countries, bringing availability to 89 markets.

The new rollout adds 14 Latin American countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru, plus Nigeria, South Africa, Serbia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ads appear only on the Free and Go plans, while Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscribers continue to see an ad-free product. The push, The Information reported, is part of OpenAI's effort to "turn advertising into a bigger source of revenue to help cover its AI costs."

The expansion follows an August milestone, when the ad business crossed a $1 billion annualized run rate less than 200 days after launch. In its own announcement, OpenAI said "advertising helps support free and low-cost access to ChatGPT for people around the world," and reiterated that it keeps conversations private from advertisers and does not sell customer data.