ChatGPT has asked 500 questions. Here are the ads you’ve seen most often

OpenAI has started providing the free version of ChatGPT With ads. So, I spent this week asking ChatGPT 500 questions on the mobile app to learn how to do just that New ads See as it rolls out to more users in the US. My questions were On a loose basis About how OpenAI says people use its generative AI tool, such as searching for information or seeking practical guidance.

In my harsh tests, ChatGPT Advertisements It felt very repetitive. About one in five questions in a new chat thread resulted in an ad appearing at the bottom of the chatbot’s output. These ads always include a website link as a button and are tailored to the general topic of my question. As OpenAI continues to experiment with ads in ChatGPT, the format and frequency of these ads may change.

“Because ChatGPT is a trusted and personal environment for many people, we intentionally roll out ads slowly,” an OpenAI spokesperson told WIRED. “Starting with a limited number of advertisers and formats as we iterate based on what we learn.” OpenAI claims that the decision to roll out ads now is not tied to anything IPO rumored It’s due later this year, but it’s part of a longer-term strategy to keep ChatGPT widely available.

ChatGPT’s ads seemed repetitive in my early experiences, but the range of topics covered was broad and always tailored to my latest prompt. I saw an ad for Uber Which read “Your Schedule, Your Earnings” when I asked about the gig economy. OpenAI gave me an ad for Page Six’s Hollywood newsletter below the answer when I asked about the worst TV show ever. (The robot floats The Jerry Springer Show and Rock Cop As two possibilities.) My question is about Harvard Stanford to launch an advertisement for the part-time MBA program at the University of Minnesota.

In general, I’ve seen ads for dog food, printers, hotel reservations, Productivity softwaremovie tickets, food delivery apps, modern relationships, streaming services, corporate credit cards, apartment furniture, cruise vacations, Artificial intelligence coding toolsFreelance editors, skin care articles, business internet plans, handmade gifts, groceries, basketball tickets and more.

Travel-related questions currently seem to trigger ads more often. When I asked for help planning a trip to Palm Springs, the ad attached below the answer was for Booking.com. When I clicked on the link, I automatically searched for hotel deals in Palm Springs.

Before adopting ads for free users this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed his aversion to chatbots containing ads. “I hate ads,” Altman said during an interview. Discussion on stage at Harvard Business School in 2024. The combination of “advertising plus artificial intelligence is uniquely troubling,” he said, and raises questions about who might influence chatbot answers.

“I think advertising is a last resort business model for us,” he said. “I would do it if it meant that this was the only way for everyone in the world to have access to great services. But if we can find something that doesn’t do that, I’d rather have that.” I think 2026 is the year for some last resort moves. OpenAI recently Sora pausedits social media app for artificial intelligence videos, has canceled plans for an app The exciting version of ChatGPT. Leaders in the company try to streamline operations and fend off competition through… Increasing focus On basic products.

OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT in February in the US. I first started noticing it in my test account in early March. The company claims that ads do not influence the content of ChatGPT answers and that your full conversation is not shared with companies that pay for ad placements. The ads shown to users are influenced by the topic of your question as well as your previous conversations and what ChatGPT stores in its memory about you.