What happened
OpenAI launched advertising within ChatGPT for select users, marking fourth ad-related move in five weeks. Rollout follows 16 January integration of ad-supported content and 23 January release of dedicated advertising tools. System now serves sponsored content directly within conversational threads. Shift reverses December 2025 policy that paused ad-like suggestions. OpenAI prioritises revenue stream to offset high inference costs, transitioning from subscription-only model to hybrid platform.
Why it matters
Procurement teams face increased data privacy risks because ads introduce third-party tracking into conversational interfaces. Security architects must mitigate new attack vectors as ad-injection creates pathways for prompt injection. Founders using ChatGPT for research risk biased outputs because sponsored content influences model responses. Pattern of four updates since January proves pivot to high-volume advertising to subsidise compute. Enterprise users lose interface neutrality, resulting in potential brand safety conflicts and data leakage risks.
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