OpenAI ad pilot surpasses $100M run rate within weeks of launch

OpenAI has reached an annualized revenue run rate exceeding $100 million from its advertising pilot less than two months after its rollout in the United States, according to reporting by CNBC.

The ad initiative, introduced earlier this year, targets free users and subscribers to ChatGPT Go, marking the company’s initial move into advertising as a revenue stream. The pilot currently involves more than 600 advertisers, with early performance indicating strong commercial interest despite its limited scope.

Ads are integrated directly into the chatbot interface, appearing beneath generated responses and labeled as sponsored content. The company has stated that advertisements do not influence outputs and are excluded from sensitive categories such as politics and health. Access is also restricted for users under 18.

According to company data, approximately 85% of eligible users in the U.S. can receive ads, though fewer than one in five are exposed to them on a daily basis. The controlled rollout reflects a measured approach as the company evaluates user experience and advertiser performance before broader deployment.

The advertising pilot is also being extended to additional markets, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as OpenAI continues to test scalability beyond the U.S.

The move has drawn criticism from competitors, including Anthropic, which publicly questioned the strategy. However, early revenue figures suggest that advertising could become a meaningful addition to OpenAI’s business model as it diversifies beyond subscriptions and enterprise services.