The free ride’s ending, but it might be the only way to keep it running.
Attention costs: OpenAI is apparently testing ads in ChatGPT, and leaked code from the Android beta reveals features could debut as early as 2026. What a start to the year, huh?
The chatbot processes 2.5B prompts daily, creating an abundance of data that could pose a serious challenge to Google’s dominance.
And OpenAI is building a serious infrastructure, with over 600 advertising specialists hired from companies like Meta.
But there’s a privacy problem: The ads may leverage ChatGPT’s memory feature to deliver personalized suggestions.
Since many users have shared details about their personal lives with the chatbot, some are feeling a bit icky about the news.
Why now? Each ChatGPT interaction costs OpenAI money, and the company is hemorrhaging billions annually despite premium subscription, due to AI datacenters’ insane operational costs.
If OpenAI executes well, you’ll gain access to billions of high-intent conversations where users actively seek solutions, often with multiple prompts.
Our advice? Start planning for how your products could appear in ChatGPT’s suggestions.
