OpenAI Surpasses $100 Million Annualized Revenue From Ads Pilot
The revenue milestone comes six weeks after the ads pilot was announced.
OpenAI has surpassed $100 million in annualized revenue from its ChatGPT ads business, six weeks after the pilot was announced, according to a spokesperson. That revenue has been generated from the less than 20% of U.S.-based ChatGPT Free and Go users who are shown ads on a daily basis today, though around 85% of Free and Go users are eligible to see ads, the spokesperson said.
OpenAI has expanded to more than 600 advertisers, and is on track to launch self-serve advertiser access in April, they said. The company is currently focused on improving ad relevance, with less than 7% of ads rated by users as “low relevance,” as well as ensuring that ads don’t negatively impact user trust, the spokesperson said.
The company announced earlier this week that it had brought on former Meta ad executive Dave Dugan to lead ads sales. It’s now exploring expanding ads into other geographic regions including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the spokesperson said.
Ads represent an important source of revenue as the company gears up to go public. Executives have told investors that the company expects to generate more than $17 billion from consumers using ChatGPT in 2026, including making money from free users through advertisements.