OpenAI Begins Testing Ads in ChatGPT, Turning “Go” Into the Budget Tier While Plus Stays Ad-Free

OpenAI said on Feb. 9, 2026 that it is beginning a U.S. test of ads in ChatGPT, positioning ads as a way to support broader access while keeping answers independent.^[1]

The test applies to logged-in adult users on the Free and Go tiers, while Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education will remain ad-free during this rollout.

The company is framing this as an experiment designed to gather feedback before expanding.

How the ads work, according to OpenAI

OpenAI says ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers, and that ads are clearly labeled as sponsored and visually separated from the organic answer.

During the test, OpenAI says it will select ads by matching advertisers to the topic of your conversation, your past chats, and your past interactions with ads. 

OpenAI also says the test will not show ads for accounts where the user says they are under 18 or where OpenAI predicts they are under 18, and that ads are not eligible to appear near health, mental health, or politics during the trial. 

Go becomes the “budget tier” while Plus stays clean

This rollout effectively turns ChatGPT Go into a low-cost, ad-supported tier while the subscription tiers above it remain a premium, ad-free experience. 

OpenAI launched Go globally in mid-January, saying the plan costs $8 per month in the U.S. and positioning it as a third subscription tier below Plus.^[2] 

OpenAI’s announcement lands in a moment where multiple AI and search products are experimenting with ad formats inside AI-driven experiences.

Adobe joins OpenAI’s ad pilot as a launch partner

Adobe said it is a pilot partner in the ChatGPT ad program. As part of the pilot, Adobe said it will run ads for Acrobat Studio and Adobe Firefly, working with agency partner WPP.^[3]

Adobe framed the partnership as part of a broader shift where people use large language models for information and purchase decisions, and said the pilot will help it understand how ads can be integrated while maintaining user trust and OpenAI’s privacy framework. 

Asad Awan, Ads and Monetization lead at OpenAI, said:

We believe ads play an important role in continuing to support broad access to AI. By working closely with partners like Adobe in this pilot, we’re able to thoughtfully test new ad experiences and learn together to ensure ads are separate and clearly distinct, relevant, and useful while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT.

Early Ad Experiments in AI

This isn’t the first integration of AI with ads. Google Search, AI Overviews can include ads above, below, or within the AI-generated summary, and Google says ads served within the overview consider both the user’s query and the overview’s content.^[4] It should be noted that AI Overviews are a Search feature rather than the Gemini assistant, but they offer a clear example of how Google is integrating paid placements into generative AI experiences.

In 2024, Perplexity, an AI answer engine, began testing ads as “sponsored follow-up questions” for U.S. users, and said the answers to those questions are generated by Perplexity rather than written or edited by advertisers.^[5]

The Anthropic contrast: “Claude will remain ad-free”

Anthropic has leaned hard into the counter-positioning. In a Feb. 2026 post, the company said Claude will remain ad-free, arguing that advertising incentives are incompatible with a genuinely helpful AI assistant and that users should not see sponsored links adjacent to conversations.^[6]

In fact, the company used Super Bowl advertising to take a shot at OpenAI’s ad testing plans, highlighting how monetization strategy has become part of the public rivalry between major AI labs. The original ad had the tagline: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”^[7] However, the actual ad that aired had the tagline replaced to: “There is a time and place for ads. Your conversations with AI should not be one of them.”^[8]

What to watch next

If OpenAI expands this test, the biggest questions will be less about whether ads appear and more about how clearly they remain separated from answers, how users respond to personalization based on chat history, and whether “ad-free” becomes a stronger differentiator for premium subscriptions and competitors.