ChatGPT can soon show users ads for products they might be interested in buying.
OpenAI announced last Friday that it will begin testing advertising on the free version of ChatGPT for adult users in the United States. Apart from this, they are launching a ‘Go’ subscription plan priced at $8 per month. This plan will have some advanced features like long-term memory and the ability to create more photos, which is quite affordable than their conventional ‘Plus’ ($20 per month) or ‘Pro’ ($200 per month) subscriptions. But those who take ‘Go’ subscription will also have to watch ads.
Plus and Pro customers and OpenAI Business customers will not be shown any ads.
OpenAI’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sam Altman previously expressed some hesitation about advertising on ChatGPT. But currently the company is trying to increase its revenue from its 80 crore monthly users. The $1.4 trillion they have pledged to spend on AI infrastructure over the next eight years; This step is being taken to meet that huge cost.
Last November, Altman said the company had set a target of about $20 billion in annual revenue by 2025.
The company last year launched a tool called ‘Instant Checkout’, through which users can buy products from retailers like Walmart, Etsy.
In addition, they have added various tools related to health and education, so that ChatGPT becomes an essential part of people’s daily lives and encourages users to take up paid subscriptions.
Advertising can be a profitable strategy for OpenAI. Because, with ChatGPT it is possible to target very precisely using the data of human conversations.
For example, if a user asks ChatGPT for help planning a trip, he may be shown advertisements for hotels or entertainment centers in that particular area.
As part of this testing, ads will be displayed directly below a user’s answer to a question and will be labeled sponsored.
Advertisements will not influence the responses provided by ChatGPT, according to OpenAI. Users need to trust that ChatGPT’s answers are always objectively based on what is necessary or useful.
