At a Glance
- OpenAI is testing ads inside ChatGPT’s free tier and new $8 Go plan
- Ads will appear only on non-sensitive topics and never on health, mental health, or politics
- Under-18 users and predicted minors will see zero ads
- Why it matters: Users gain free and cheaper options, but privacy watchdogs warn the model still isn’t bound by health-privacy laws
OpenAI has quietly flipped the switch on advertising inside ChatGPT, promising revenue-friendly placements while drawing a hard line around anything that could be called sensitive. The move arrives alongside a new wallet-friendly membership tier and fresh questions about how health data will be protected.
Ads land inside ChatGPT
The company confirmed the test in a short blog post, saying that sponsored answers will surface at the bottom of a conversation only when “there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.”
OpenAI lists the guardrails:
- No ads on health, mental health, or politics
- No ads for anyone who tells the bot they’re under 18
- No ads for users the system predicts are minors
- No selling of personal data to advertisers
- Individual conversations stay private from marketers
Users can disable personalization or wipe the data driving ads at any time, the firm added.
New Go tier undercuts Plus
Alongside the ad test, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT Go at $8 a month, slotting between the free version and the $20 Plus plan. Go members receive:
- 10× more messages than free users
- Expanded file-upload limits
- Higher image-generation quotas
- Better long-term memory of prior chats
The top-tier Pro subscription remains at $200 a month.
Health launch sparks privacy fears
The advertising news follows last week’s rollout of ChatGPT Health, a portal where users can upload personal medical data for AI-powered insights. Because OpenAI is not a covered health-care provider, conversations there fall outside HIPAA-style protections, a point privacy advocates were quick to flag.
According to News Of Losangeles, regulators have yet to clarify how consumer health data shared with AI tools will be safeguarded.
Lawsuit backdrop
The announcement comes as Ziff Davis, News Of Losangeles‘s parent company, pursues litigation filed in April that accuses OpenAI of copyright infringement while training and running its models.
Key takeaways
- Ads are live for free and Go users, but sensitive topics stay ad-free
- An $8 Go plan offers more usage without the full Plus price
- Health uploads remain outside standard medical-privacy rules
- Users retain opt-out and data-clear options
