Sean Walsh
Sean is a Director at Intelligency heading up our digital marketing and client services operations. Sean has 15+ years experiencing working both in-house and agency with brands including Lloyds, Alstom, Hitachi, Lufthansa, Viaplay, DFDS Seaways and Mercedes-Benz.
OpenAI has shared new details on how advertising will work inside ChatGPT, and while the rollout is deliberately cautious, it signals an important shift in how people may discover brands through AI.
On a recent episode of the OpenAI Podcast, OpenAI executive Assad Awan outlined the principles guiding ads in ChatGPT, who will see them, and why trust sits at the centre of the strategy.
For non-technical marketers, here is what actually matters.
Who will see ads and who will not
Ads will only appear for users on ChatGPT’s Free and Go tiers. Anyone on Plus, Pro, or Enterprise plans will remain ad free, and Enterprise workspaces will stay completely untouched by advertising.
This instantly positions ChatGPT ads as a mass market product rather than a premium one, aimed at scale and accessibility rather than high-paying power users.
How OpenAI is protecting trust
OpenAI has been very clear that ads cannot interfere with answers. Several guardrails are already in place:
- Ads are visually and technically separate from ChatGPT responses
- Conversations are not shared with advertisers
- Sensitive topics like health and politics will not trigger ads
- Users can adjust or turn off ad personalisation, or upgrade to remove ads entirely
Crucially, the AI itself does not know when ads are present and cannot reference them unless a user explicitly asks about one. This is designed to prevent any influence on how answers are written.
Why is this different from search and social ads
OpenAI says it is prioritising user trust over advertiser value and revenue. That is a big statement, but it explains why the rollout will be slow and conservative.
For marketers, the opportunity is not about volume at launch. It is about intent.
ChatGPT is used during active thinking moments. People are researching, comparing, planning, or trying to solve a problem. Ads appearing in that context could be far closer to a recommendation moment than a scroll-based interruption.
If executed well, this could become a powerful discovery channel rather than a traditional performance one.
A big opportunity for small businesses
One of the most interesting points from the podcast was OpenAI’s long-term vision. Awan described a future where AI acts as an advertising agent.
Instead of dashboards, keywords, and complex targeting, businesses could simply describe their goals in plain language and let AI handle the setup and optimisation.
If that becomes reality, it could significantly lower the barrier to entry for small and medium-sized businesses that currently struggle with paid media complexity.
The bigger picture
Advertising is how OpenAI plans to scale access to ChatGPT without compromising its core experience. The company is betting that relevance, usefulness, and trust will ultimately outperform aggressive monetisation.
For marketers, the key takeaway is simple. AI is no longer just a tool behind the scenes. It is becoming a front door to brands, services, and decisions.
And that makes this worth paying attention to now, not later.
