OpenAI Ad Chief: Trust Means Some Things Are Off-Limits

OpenAI's head of monetization, Benji Shomair, told advertising partners on Monday that user trust is the guiding principle of the company's fledgling ads business, even when it means turning down what advertisers want. "There are places where our partners would like us to do certain things that we just can't because of how we think about making decisions," Shomair said at an event hosted by adtech investment bank Luma Partners, Adweek reported.

The hard limits are clear: OpenAI will keep ChatGPT conversations private from advertisers and will never sell user data, commitments the company has spelled out in its advertising principles. Those promises mean certain data‑sharing and targeting requests from partners are simply off the table, Shomair said.

OpenAI has begun testing ads in ChatGPT, and the program has expanded to 26 countries with more than 100,000 advertisers. Ads appear only on the free and Go plans; Plus, Pro, and Enterprise subscriptions stay ad‑free. The company says sponsored results sit at the bottom of answers and do not change what ChatGPT actually says.

The ads push is not optional. OpenAI posted a $38.5 billion net loss last year, Adweek reported, and began testing ads in February with agency holding companies Omnicom, WPP, and Dentsu as initial partners. The company needs new revenue streams as it finances its infrastructure build‑out and a planned 2027 IPO.

OpenAI has targeted $100 billion in annual ad revenue by 2030, with a nearer‑term goal of $2.5 billion in 2026, The Media Leader reported from an earlier interview with Shomair. ChatGPT has passed 900 million users, and roughly 22% show commercial intent in their queries, giving OpenAI a large surface for the ads business.

When asked whether OpenAI could guarantee that no ad would appear in sensitive or prohibited contexts, Shomair replied "What is a guarantee?" and pointed to automation, The Media Leader reported. He argued OpenAI is more concerned about brand safety than advertisers are, because damaged trust would hurt the company more, and said it is building its adtech stack in‑house to keep control of placements.

For builders, the ads push is a two‑sided signal. Ads fund free access, but they are confined to the free and Go tiers, so the paid plans builders rely on stay clean. The bigger watch item is whether ad pressure eventually changes how ChatGPT behaves or ranks its answers. For now, OpenAI is drawing a clear line: your conversations are not for sale.