OpenAI Adds Visual Ads to ChatGPT Image Generation
OpenAI will test image-based sponsored ads in ChatGPT in the US later in October 2026, initially alongside image generation. Ads will stay separate from generated images and won’t affect answers; Plus, Pro, and Enterprise users won’t see them.
OpenAI is expanding advertising in ChatGPT with a new visual format that displays images of sponsored products and services alongside your chat. The company announced in October 2026 that it will begin testing the format in the US later that month.
The visual ads will initially appear when users generate images with ChatGPT. Like the existing ad format introduced in February 2026, the new sponsored content will remain visually separate from the image you generate and will “not influence the answers ChatGPT provides,” according to OpenAI.
ChatGPT’s original ad format was limited to displaying a company’s name, logo, and a product link in a “sponsored” section beneath the chat. The new visual format marks a more prominent step into display-style advertising for the platform.
OpenAI says it has guardrails in place to determine when a conversation is “appropriate” for ads, with the stated goal of keeping them out of “emotionally vulnerable, sensitive, or otherwise unsuitable contexts.” The company is rolling out visual ads with an “initial group of advertisers” and plans to test additional formats in the future.
Users subscribed to ChatGPT’s Plus, Pro, or Enterprise plans will not see ads. For free-tier users, the expansion of advertising into image generation could mean more frequent sponsored content during everyday use — though the extent of that exposure will depend on how broadly OpenAI scales the format beyond its initial test.