OpenAI Eyes Ad Revenue, Talks With The Trade Desk to Monetize ChatGPT

OpenAI is gearing up to put ads in ChatGPT. The AI giant has entered early partnership discussions with The Trade Desk, the publicly traded ad tech platform, to help it sell advertising within its flagship product.

The stakes are massive. OpenAI projects that ad revenue could help double its consumer ChatGPT revenue this year to $17 billion. That's a serious bet on advertising as a growth engine alongside its existing subscription model.

The move signals a strategic shift for OpenAI, which has so far relied primarily on subscriptions and API access for revenue. Bringing in a heavyweight like The Trade Desk suggests the company isn't just experimenting — it's building real ad infrastructure.

For users, the big question is obvious: what does an ad-supported ChatGPT actually look like? OpenAI hasn't shared those details yet.