OpenAI has reiterated that ChatGPT currently does not serve ads, following complaints from paying subscribers about promotional-style messages referencing consumer brands. Executives, including Chief Research Officer Mark Chen and ChatGPT Head Nick Turley, responded by clarifying that the platform has only been testing ways to suggest third-party applications built on the ChatGPT platform announced in October, without any financial component.
Chen acknowledged that some recent suggestions appeared too similar to advertisements and said the company had fallen short of expectations. OpenAI has now disabled this type of recommendation while working on more precise and user-controlled features. The internal shift comes as CEO Sam Altman has reportedly prioritized improving ChatGPT’s overall quality over expanding future advertising initiatives, even as Fidji Simo, known for previous advertising leadership roles, joined as CEO of Applications earlier this year.
