OpenAI appears to be preparing a significant shift in how ChatGPT is monetized, with newly discovered code suggesting that ads will soon appear in the chatbot — most likely for users on the free tier. References to advertising surfaced after engineer Tibor Blaho uncovered strings in the ChatGPT Android app related to search ads, an ad carousel and an ad API. Even though the code was found in the Android version, it’s hard to imagine this change not extending across the full ecosystem, including iOS, desktop and Mac.
The wording points to ads tied specifically to search-style prompts — things like shopping queries or web lookups where sponsored results are already familiar in other platforms. If that’s the direction OpenAI is taking, the company may be trying to thread the needle between generating revenue and avoiding ads in everyday conversations, though how tightly that boundary holds remains to be seen.
ChatGPT’s paid tiers currently start at $20 per month for Plus, with a $200 Pro tier offering higher usage limits. Business, teams and education plans round out the higher-end options, while a free tier continues to act as the product’s entry point. In some regions, OpenAI has also rolled out a cheaper Go plan, which could become part of the US lineup once ads are introduced.
There has been ongoing speculation that prices for the higher tiers will rise, and an ad-supported model would give OpenAI an opportunity to restructure its plans. Introducing ads also aligns with a noticeable shift in how the company’s leadership talks about monetization. Late in 2024, CEO Sam Altman described advertising as a last resort. But internal forecasts leaked in early 2025 projected around $1 billion in revenue from monetizing free users by 2026, signalling a clear change in financial strategy. By mid-2025, Altman’s tone had shifted even further: he publicly praised Instagram’s targeted ads and suggested OpenAI could deliver “cool product ads” that would be a “net win to the user.”
The pivot reflects broader pressures facing AI companies. Large-scale models remain expensive to operate, and as more users rely on free access, the gap between demand and revenue continues to widen. Ads offer a familiar, if controversial, solution. For OpenAI, the challenge will be balancing the economics with user trust — especially for a tool people turn to for research, recommendations and personal problem-solving.
