OpenAI has denied claims that its AI chatbot ChatGPT has begun showing advertisements, following a surge of social-media screenshots purporting to show ad placements in the interface. According to a post by Nick Turley (VP and head of ChatGPT) on X, “there are no live tests for ads — any screenshots you’ve seen are either not real or not ads.”
I’m seeing lots of confusion about ads rumors in ChatGPT. There are no live tests for ads – any screenshots you’ve seen are either not real or not ads. If we do pursue ads, we’ll take a thoughtful approach. People trust ChatGPT and anything we do will be designed to respect that.
— Nick Turley (@nickaturley) December 6, 2025
The clarification comes amid growing public concern as users shared images that appeared to show shopping-style promos or “ads to shop at Target” while using ChatGPT. Such posts triggered speculation that OpenAI had begun monetising the free-tier experience with traditional advertising. However, Turley asserted that the images are misinterpretations or fabrications, and emphasised that user trust remains a top priority.
In earlier months, code found in the beta version of ChatGPT’s Android app — including strings referencing “search ads carousel” and “ads feature” — had fuelled rumours of a possible ad roll-out in the future. That had stirred concern among both free- and paid-tier users.
Despite past openness to exploring ads as a revenue stream, OpenAI appears to have paused such initiatives for now. Amid mounting competition and internal focus on product improvements, the company has reportedly reprioritised core development over monetisation experiments.
