Are Ads Coming to a ChatGPT Near You?
ChatGPT may be rolling out ads to their platform soon. Some users have already reported seeing them on their paid accounts.
I have been seeing reports that ChatGPT is considering rolling out ads into the platform. While this isn’t entirely unexpected, it is disappointing to see. Targeted ads are common on other platforms such as Google, but I don’t consider ChatGPT to be a search engine where I look for products to buy. To my knowledge there is no feature built into the AI platform that allows you to search and navigate to product webpages.
Ads are expected on platforms such as Google and Amazon where you are actively searching for products.
AI chatbots are already known to give bad information, mix that in with sponsored ad responses and I believe trust in this technology will fall to an all time low.
It was found out after code hidden in the Android ChatGPT app had references to ads being placed in the app.
Some users are reporting that they are seeing them already even on their $200 a month pro plan.
Users on 𝕏 are also reporting seeing ads in their ChatGPT app
ChatGPT has started posting ads on Pro accounts.
— Kol Tregaskes (@koltregaskes) December 1, 2025
I hope this is just testing/a mistake, else it's an instant unsubscribe from me. On the flipside, the ad seems completely unrelated to the chat.@sama don't do it! https://t.co/DovCmTihen pic.twitter.com/PCnnhvzyC5
As expected, users of the AI app are not happy about the idea of being served ads on the platform.
Comments on Reddit reflect how most people will likely feel about this, with one user saying “Trained on your stolen data. Now with ads.”
I would have to agree with this sentiment. I currently pay for the ChatGPT Plus subscription, but I don’t see continuing that if it starts to serve me ads. Not only that, but AI chatbots tend to learn way more information about you than most platforms. I don’t see any scenario where this data they have on you stays private or secure from these ad networks. Privacy is already a concern with AI, adding in ad platforms into the mix just seems like a recipe for disaster.
Bad actors have tried to use mobile ad networks in the past to spread malware. It’s hard enough to trust most apps, but once you add in advertising, it presents even more privacy concerns.
I recently reported on how a third party integrator leaked premium user data for Pornhub users. Users private search and watch history was leaked, creating potential embarrassment for them. Take a minute to think about some of the questions you may have asked a chatbot, and then imagine it getting leaked to everyone you know.
This same situation could become a reality for users of ChatGPT if they go down this path.
So what do you think? Can you trust Open AI if they officially roll out ads on their app? I might have to reevaluate my use of this AI platform if they do.
