Overview
- OpenAI publicly pitched the ad business at Cannes Lions on Monday, where its advertising chief set a $100 billion goal for 2030 and said thousands of advertisers are already testing the product in seven markets.
- ChatGPT began running query‑integrated ads for free and entry‑level users in February and OpenAI rolled out a U.S. Ads Manager beta in May that supports cost‑per‑click and cost‑per‑thousand bidding with no minimum spend.
- The company is expanding testing quickly with near‑term launches planned for Brazil and Mexico and a longer‑term plan for India, and the UK has opened access to the Ads Manager beta for businesses.
- OpenAI is keeping paid tiers ad‑free while offering Codex‑powered creative tools that can build full visual campaigns and striking licensing deals, such as with Getty Images, to supply legal content for ads and responses.
- The ad push is tied to early June confidential IPO filing plans and near‑term revenue estimates in the low billions for 2026, with banks advising the company and observers warning the move could reshape search advertising and disrupt creative work.