OpenAI Says Its Ad Business Hit a Major Milestone, Says It Proves a ‘Diversified Business Model’

OpenAI announced that its advertising business hit the milestone of $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate, which claims proves the company has a "diversified business model."

The company began testing ads earlier this year. They are now available in dozens of countries, and has begun showing them to some users in India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. They are seen by OpenAI Go subscribers in the free tier. It noted that ads are clearly labeled and don't have anything to do with the answers. Accounts identified as belonging to people under 18 are also excluded from the program.

"Our next phase of growth will bring ChatGPT Ads to more markets and introduce additional formats, objectives, buying options, and measurement capabilities," the company said. "We will also explore new ways for businesses to interact with consumers in more native ways in ChatGPT."

India gives OpenAI a particularly large audience for the rollout. The company said in February that the country had surpassed 100 million weekly ChatGPT users, making it one of the service's biggest markets worldwide. The figure was disclosed as part of the company's OpenAI for India initiative, which also included plans to expand local infrastructure and partnerships.

More than 50 brands are expected to participate in the initial India rollout, according to the company, with OpenAI working with advertising groups WPP and Omnicom. The company is also preparing to open self-service access to its advertising system, allowing businesses to create and manage campaigns without going through OpenAI's sales team.

The company claimed that its next phase will "bring ChatGPT Ads to more markets and introduce additional formats, objectives, buying options, and measurement capabilities."

Advertising gives OpenAI another way to generate revenue from users who do not pay for its priced subscriptions. The company said in February that ChatGPT had more than 900 million weekly active users globally and more than 50 million consumer subscribers, while more than 9 million paying business users relied on the service for work, according to an OpenAI funding and business update.

OpenAI has stressed that advertisers will not be able to influence ChatGPT's answers or access users' conversations. Its advertising documentation says responses are generated independently from sponsored placements and advertisers receive aggregated performance information rather than users' chats, memories or personal details.

The strategy differs from rival Anthropic, which has pledged to keep Claude free of advertising. OpenAI, meanwhile, is expanding the tools available to advertisers: its advertising platform now lets marketers target users as they compare products and consider decisions, and self-service advertising in India is scheduled to begin on Sept. 4.