"OpenAI said on Friday that free and Go users of ChatGPT would start seeing ads "in the coming weeks." OpenAI also laid out its advertising principles, such as clearly labeling them and not sharing user conversations with advertisers. "A path to generating several billion dollars in ad revenue in 2026, going to $25B+ by 2030, seems reasonable," Mahaney wrote in a note to investors. That's based on the likely scale of ChatGPT by that time, the proven monetization of high-intent performance marketing platforms, and the current size of this market, the analyst added."
"OpenAI's revenue is growing fast already. CFO Sarah Friar said in a recent blog post that the startup's annualized revenue topped $20 billion in 2025, up from $2 billion in 2023. However, there are big question marks over OpenAI's losses and whether it can become profitable in the future. Advertising could be one way for OpenAI to boost its top and bottom lines. Mahaney noted that Google's Search and YouTube businesses likely generated close to $300 billion in ad revenue in 2025, with Meta generating an additional $180 billion. These are highly profitable operations, with operating profit margins of 40%, according to the analyst."
Ads will be tested for some ChatGPT users, with free and Go users starting to see ads soon and ad principles that include clear labeling and not sharing user conversations with advertisers. A path exists for ad revenue to reach several billion dollars in 2026 and exceed $25 billion by 2030 based on ChatGPT's scale, proven performance-marketing monetization, and market size. OpenAI's annualized revenue topped $20 billion in 2025, up from $2 billion in 2023, but losses and profitability remain uncertain. ChatGPT's nearly one billion weekly users provide valuable intent signals attractive to advertisers, threatening incumbent ad businesses.
Read at Business Insider
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