OpenAI Brings Subscription Tier and Ads to US

OpenAI is bringing a new subscription tier and ads to the United States.

The company has begun bringing the low-cost subscription tier ChatGPT Go to the United States and everywhere ChatGPT is available, it said in a Friday (Jan. 16) press release.

OpenAI has already launched this subscription tier in 171 countries since August, according to the release.

The tier offers ChatGPT users expanded access to messaging, image creation, file uploads and memory for $8 per month, the release said. The company’s existing Pro and Plus plans cost $20 and $200 per month, respectively.

OpenAI also plans to begin testing ads in the U.S. for its Free and Go tiers within weeks, “so more people can benefit from our tools with fewer usage limits or without having to pay,” according to the release.

The company’s Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise subscription plans will not include ads, according to the release.

OpenAI said in the release that with the offerings announced Friday, it aims to “make powerful AI accessible to everyone.”

As the company introduces ads to the ChatGPT experience, it said it will ensure that the artificial intelligence assistant’s responses are driven by “what’s objectively useful,” not by advertising; users’ data and conversations will remain protected and never sold to advertisers; and users will be able to choose to control the experience to see relevant ads and to turn off personalization, according to the release.

In addition, ads will be clearly labeled and separate from ChatGPT’s organic answer; users will be able to learn why they are seeing an ad and will be able to dismiss it; and OpenAI will not show ads to users it predicts are under the age of 18 and will not show ads near answers about health, mental health, politics, or other sensitive or regulated topics, per the release.

“Once we begin testing our first ad formats in the coming weeks and months, we look forward to getting people’s feedback and ensuring that ads can support broad access to AI and keep the trust that makes ChatGPT valuable,” OpenAI said in the release.

It was reported in December 2024 that OpenAI was considering combining advertising with its AI offerings as it searched for new revenue streams.

In September, it was reported that the company was seeking someone to help carry out its monetization plans and oversee a team responsible for bringing ads to ChatGPT.

In October, another provider of AI services, Meta, said it would begin using people’s conversations with its AI to create personalized ads and content.

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