Overview
- Research chief Mark Chen said the team shut off the suggestion behavior that resembled promotions to improve model precision and add user controls.
- ChatGPT lead Nick Turley stated there is no live advertising in the product and said any future consideration of ads would be handled thoughtfully to preserve trust.
- OpenAI said the items users saw were automatic recommendations from its new apps-in-ChatGPT system rather than paid placements.
- Users had shared screenshots that looked like promotions, including shopping prompts such as “Shop at Target,” which fueled confusion about an ad rollout.
- Media reports cite leaked code references and an engineer’s post pointing to ad-related functions, while separate reporting says Sam Altman has put ad plans on hold to prioritize speed, reliability and personalization in response to competition from Google’s Gemini.