OpenAI has announced a new advertising format for ChatGPT: image ads that appear while the app is generating a picture. The test will start later in October, in the United States only and with an initial group of advertisers.
It doesn’t affect Italy for now, but it shows clearly the direction OpenAI is pushing its service in.
What changes in practice
Until now, advertising in ChatGPT could appear beneath text answers. The new format moves it to a different moment: the wait while the image is being created.
In the examples released by OpenAI, ads from a food brand appear beneath the generation progress indicator. Some are carousels, with photos that rotate; others show several product images side by side. According to the company, they are meant to show shopping inspiration, ways of using a product or what a service lets you do.
Two guarantees stated by OpenAI:
- the ads are clearly labelled and stay separate from the image you are creating;
- advertising does not influence ChatGPT’s answers, as is already the case for the other formats.
Who will see it
The test applies to the free plan in the United States. OpenAI describes a limited trial with a first group of advertisers. It hasn’t explained how often the ads will appear, or whether users will be able to hide this format.
ChatGPT now has around 1.2 billion weekly users, and that is the audience advertisers have in front of them.
Measurement and brand safety
A good part of the announcement is aimed at businesses. OpenAI has added partners to measure campaign results, including AppsFlyer, Triple Whale, Adjust, Kochava, Branch and Singular, with reporting and click-tracking tools.
Suitability checks are also being prepared with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science, companies that assess where ads can appear without harming the image of those paying for them. Here an independent partner will check how OpenAI applies its own standards, in a test environment.
Prices and availability in Italy
OpenAI has given no date for Italy or Europe, nor any rates for advertisers. So there is nothing to change in how Italian readers use ChatGPT day to day: no visual ads will be shown in our country as a result of this trial.
Who should care
- Anyone who uses ChatGPT for free to create images should expect, if the format reaches us too, sponsored content during the waiting time.
- Those working in marketing and e-commerce have a new space to watch, especially for highly visual products.
- Anyone following the AI sector gets one more confirmation: AI services are looking for revenue beyond subscriptions.
What we think
The move has an obvious commercial logic. Generating an image means waiting a few seconds with attention already on the screen, and a visual ad fits in nicely.
There are two risks. The first is trust: keeping the ad separate from the image is the right promise, but it will have to be tested in real use, and it will be up to users to notice whether the line holds. The second is the knock-on effect: if the format works, it is unlikely to stay confined to the US free plan.
What is really needed before any arrival in Europe is transparency: clear labels, a way to understand why you are seeing a particular ad, and an option to limit them. On these points OpenAI is, for now, silent.
Other services are also redrawing their free plans: we wrote about this for Gemini, which from 9 October is Flash-Lite only.
Written by the SpazioiTech newsroom with the help of AI tools, from facts verified across at least two independent outlets, and checked before publication. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Translated from the Italian original. Read in Italian
