OpenAI continues to state that there are currently no advertisements, or tests for advertising, active within ChatGPT. However, the company’s chief research officer, Mark Chen, acknowledged that the company “fell short” with recent promotional messages and is working to improve the experience.
Chen and other OpenAI executives were responding to complaints from paying ChatGPT subscribers. These users reported seeing promotional messages for companies like Peloton and Target within the chat interface.
In response to the criticism, the company explained it was only testing ways to highlight apps built on the ChatGPT app platform, which it announced in October. OpenAI stated there was “no financial component” to those suggestions. One user who initially complained responded skeptically, writing, “Bruhhh… Don’t insult your paying users.”
Similarly, ChatGPT head Nick Turley posted that he was “seeing lots of confusion about ads rumors in ChatGPT.” He wrote, “There are no live tests for ads – any screenshots you’ve seen are either not real or not ads. If we do pursue ads, we’ll take a thoughtful approach. People trust ChatGPT and anything we do will be designed to respect that.”
Earlier that same day, Mark Chen responded in a more apologetic tone. He acknowledged that the controversy was not merely a matter of user confusion. Chen wrote, “I agree that anything that feels like an ad needs to be handled with care, and we fell short. We’ve turned off this kind of suggestion while we improve the model’s precision. We’re also looking at better controls so you can dial this down or off if you don’t find it helpful.”
Earlier this year, former Instacart and Facebook executive Fidji Simo joined OpenAI as CEO of Applications. Her hiring led to widespread expectation that she would build up the company’s advertising business. However, a recent report from the Wall Street Journal stated that a memo from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a “code red.” This initiative prioritizes work to improve the core quality of ChatGPT and has pushed back other product developments, including advertising.