ChatGPT gets image ads while you make images

What's new

OpenAI is starting to show visual ads in the middle of ChatGPT, beginning with image generation. When you ask ChatGPT to make an image, you may be shown a sponsored card with product photos and a "Learn more" button. The ad sits next to your result, is labeled as an ad and is kept separate from the image you asked for.

According to the sources I have found, the test starts later in October 2026 in the US with a limited group of advertisers. It applies to users on the free plan and the cheap Go plan. Pro and Enterprise subscribers will not get the ads. Ads for Go and free have been running in the US since early 2026, but back then they were only text boxes below the answers.

What's clever

Advertisers can now show "product inspiration, product use or the experiences the products make possible." In other words, it is more like an ad spread in a magazine than a small text link. If you are making an image of a trip or a living room, an ad for a hotel or a sofa may pop up with real photos.

OpenAI says the ads do not affect ChatGPT's answers, including the image itself. There are also built-in safeguards that assess whether a conversation is sensitive or concerns something vulnerable before an ad is shown. OpenAI has previously said that ads are not shown to users under 18 or on topics such as health, politics and mental health. External companies such as DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science check the ads' brand safety without seeing the actual conversations.

Cheaper or better?

For the user, ChatGPT does not get cheaper. The free version was already free, and the ads are the price for that. The Go plan cost 8 dollars a month (about DKK 55) at launch in the US, and ads are shown here too. If you want to be completely free of them, you have to go up to Plus or higher. According to earlier coverage, Plus has cost 20 dollars a month.

From OpenAI's side, it is a growing business. According to The Next Web, ChatGPT has around 1.2 billion weekly users, and the ad business is said to have passed 1 billion dollars in annual revenue in under 200 days. Ads are a way to make money from the many who do not pay for a subscription. I have not found information on how it compares with competitors. The price for advertisers has not been disclosed either.

What it's good for

The format is first and foremost for advertisers who want to reach people while they are doing something creative or planning something, such as travel, interior design, food or fashion. For ordinary users, it is mostly something to be aware of: the ad must not be confused with the image you asked for.

In Denmark and the rest of the EU, the picture is different. According to The Next Web, ads have been running in 31 European countries since the end of August, and on August 31, 2026, the EU designated ChatGPT a "very large online search engine." That means a requirement for a public ad repository including advertisers' names, how long the ads ran, targeting and reach. The requirement must be met by January. Whether this particular new image format will come to Denmark has not been disclosed.