ChatGPT is About to Get Ads, and Users Aren't Happy-What to Know
ChatGPT began as an ad-free chatbot, but OpenAI has started testing advertising in its massively popular platform, and users aren’t happy about it.
OpenAI officially announced their plans to include adverts on their platforms in a blog post on January 16, outlining their vision for ads on the platform.
According to OpenAI, ChatGPT will remain independent-while ads will appear on the platform, answers will not be influenced by advertisers. Ads will be both labeled and separate from answers.
Two Tiers
The company also said that users can clear their ad data at any time and turn off personalized ads. Two tiers of ChatGPT subscriptions offer ad-free services: “Plus,” which is $20 per month, and “Pro,” which is $200 per month.
“Our goal is for ads to support broader access to more powerful ChatGPT features while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT for important and personal tasks,” the company wrote.
“We're starting with a test to learn, listen and make sure we get the experience right.”
Backlash and ‘Ens***tification’
OpenAI’s decision was not well-received by users and one of its competitors jumped on the opportunity to mock them-Anthropic used a Super Bowl ad to promise viewers that it wouldn’t use ads on its chatbot Claude.
In a viralTikTokvideo, Michael Mezz explained how the concept of “ens***tification,” a term coined by CanadianjournalistCory Doctorow.
According to Doctorow, online digital platforms under capitalism go through a three-step lifespan on their way to ens***tification. ChatGPT is now entering phase two of the process.
According to Mezz, in phase one, digital platforms are released and they are free and useful, attracting numerous users. In phase two, digital platforms start optimizing for businesses, which means more ads and a user experience designed to optimize those ads.
Finally, in phase three of ens***tification, the platform starts attempting to extract value from users and businesses alike in an effort to maximize profits for shareholders.
“ChatGPT could ens***tify thinking itself,” Mezz said.
“As more people use AI to do their thinking and research for them, billions of people’s understanding of the world would be filtered through a profit-seeking algorithm run by OpenAI.”
‘Now we need Ad Blocker’
Critics on Reddit’s r/ChatGPT forum were deeply annoyed by the decision.
“Oh great. Now we need Ad Blocker for AI,” one pundit remarked.
“No way I use it now,” another vowed, adding, “Plenty of other choices out there for casual users.”
Meanwhile, “I think way less of companies that advertise this way and I’m way less likely to buy their products,” a contributor pointed out.
“I’d buy a competitor’s product instead.”
An individual summed up: “I reject ads. Moving to Gemini, which is free and better without ads.”
However, as one person noted: “Google is the largest advertisement company on the web. They will have ads at some point.”
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This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 1:00 PM.