If you opened ChatGPT this week and thought, “Wait… why am I seeing a Target ad under my tech question?” you weren’t alone. Social media was buzzing with users claiming ads had quietly slipped into paid versions of ChatGPT. OpenAI, however, says that’s not what happened at all. OpenAI denies showing ads OpenAI has pushed back against claims that it’s testing ads on ChatGPT. Some users had shared screenshots online showing what looked like shopping promotions appearing below AI responses, even for Plus subscribers. According to the company, these viral images were “either not ads or not real.”
Also read: Ads may soon appear in ChatGPT, Android beta app code references ‘Search Ad’
Where the confusion began The drama kicked off when X user @BenjaminDEKR said they were asking ChatGPT about Windows BitLocker, but instead saw a prompt to shop at Target. The post went viral, getting over half a million views and triggering a response from OpenAI staff.
Not an ad — it was an app Daniel McAuley, a data scientist at OpenAI, replied, saying it wasn’t an advertisement. He explained:
“We’ve launched apps from some of our pilot partners since DevDay, including Target.”
These partner apps can appear inside ChatGPT to help users discover them more naturally. But the user pushed back, saying that brands popping up in unrelated conversations look and feel like ads. Also read: Learn easy ways to earn money from ChatGPT
OpenAI admits it missed the mark Mark Chen, OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer, responded more directly. He said the company had temporarily turned off these app suggestions until they can better refine how and when they show up. Chen added that OpenAI is now working on clearer settings so users can reduce or turn off such suggestions entirely. Also read: OpenAI denies allegations that ChatGPT to blame for teen’s suicide
“We’re not testing ads,” says ChatGPT head Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, ended the confusion with a final note on X: He added that if OpenAI ever does explore ads, it will do so thoughtfully: “People trust ChatGPT and anything we do will be designed to respect that.” If you were worried about paid ChatGPT turning into a billboard, for now, OpenAI insists you can relax.
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