OpenAI will expand advertising on its ChatGPT chatbot to Europe from August 24, rolling out ads in 31 markets including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, the Benelux countries and Scandinavia.
The company said ads would be visually separated from ChatGPT's responses to make them clearly distinguishable. Advertisers will not have access to users' chat histories, OpenAI's Vice President of Ads Dave Dugan said, adding that information from conversations would not be shared with advertisers.
Users who want an ad-free experience can subscribe to ChatGPT Plus or Pro. The Plus plan costs around €23 ($27) a month in Europe, while Pro costs €229. OpenAI's cheaper Go plan, at nearly €7 a month, includes advertising.
OpenAI began moving towards an advertising-funded model in early 2026, reversing a long-standing stance against ads. Chief executive Sam Altman had previously opposed advertising but became more open to the idea in late 2025, citing Instagram as an example of advertising that could be useful if done well.
The move comes as OpenAI seeks additional revenue to help cover the high costs of running its AI models. Advertising is primarily aimed at monetizing free users, who account for more than 80% of ChatGPT's more than one billion monthly users, according to current estimates.
The company is also seeking revenue from cheaper entry-level subscriptions as it looks to reduce the cost of serving its large free user base.