OpenAI has started offering its new chatbot advertising to a limited group of advertisers, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the company is working with a small pool of advertisers on trial agreements requiring less than $1 million in spending commitments each over a period of several weeks, with ads expected to launch in early February. OpenAI is reportedly charging advertisers based on ad views rather than clicks.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report, and OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment outside its regular business hours.
Currently, the company does not provide technology for advertisers to purchase ads on their own but is reportedly developing self-service advertising tools.
The initiative follows last week’s announcement that OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, would start showing ads in ChatGPT to certain U.S. users. The move represents a shift toward generating revenue from the AI chatbot, supplementing the subscription-based model previously relied upon to offset the high costs of developing the technology.
The introduction of advertising underscores the financial pressures OpenAI faces, as the company continues to invest heavily in data centers and prepares for a widely anticipated initial public offering (IPO).
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