Nobody likes seeing ads in spaces that require focused thinking, so when people learned that ChatGPT had begun testing visual ads within images, their first reaction was aversion. The most appealing thing about generative AI is that it provides a relatively clean environment where one can focus on creation and thinking. If in the future, while generating images, organizing ideas, or even having in-depth discussions, various commercial messages appear alongside, that sense of immersion and focus would inevitably suffer.
ChatGPT is integrating advertising into image generation, and the conversation may determine what you see.
According to currently available public information,OpenAI is testing a brand-new image ad format.These ads will not be directly mixed into user-generated content, but will instead be presented in a relatively independent way, showcasing use cases for specific products or the experiences those products can provide, and will be clearly labeled as advertisements. From a product design perspective, OpenAI clearly hopes to reduce advertising’s interference with the user experience and avoid making people feel forced to watch them.
More notably, OpenAI says that before serving personalized ads, the system will first analyze conversation content to determine whether it involves emotional vulnerability, mental health, or other sensitive topics. If the system believes the user is in a more sensitive state, it will not trigger the relevant ads. From a technical perspective, this is a protective mechanism intended to prevent ads from exploiting users’ emotions or personal circumstances for targeted marketing. Although this measure sounds legitimate, it also raises another question: as the system begins to analyze users’ emotions and conversation content, are we also allowing AI to more deeply understand and even assess our personal state?
OpenAI also mentioned that third-party organizations such as DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science will be responsible for checking whether brand safety rules are properly enforced. These companies will not access actual conversation content; instead, they will verify in a controlled environment whether the system complies with established rules. I believe this kind of external oversight is necessary. Any platform that intends to serve ads based on user behavior and preferences should undergo independent review, rather than relying entirely on a company’s own assurances. After all, when a system begins collecting information and deciding who to show which ads to, transparency and credibility become especially important.
From a business perspective, OpenAI’s move into advertising is not hard to understand. ChatGPT has a huge user base, but paying subscribers are ultimately only a portion of it. If the company can make money through advertising, it can create a new revenue stream from free users and further support its high computing and R&D costs. This is a reasonable business model for the company, but whether users are willing to accept AI tools gradually turning into advertising platforms is another matter.
In addition, Europe’s regulatory regime makes this even more noteworthy. Since the end of August, the ads in question have been shown to free and Go users in several European countries, while Plus, Pro, and Enterprise users are unaffected. Meanwhile, because ChatGPT has more than 150 million monthly active users in the EU, far above the threshold defined by the Digital Services Act, it has been designated a “very large online search engine.”
An important consequence of this determination is that OpenAI will have to regularly disclose advertising-related information in the future, including who the advertisers are, when ads were placed, which audiences were targeted, and how many people they ultimately reached. In other words, the EU requires OpenAI to maintain complete and traceable records for its advertising business. This not only helps regulators exercise oversight but also gives the public a clearer understanding of how the ChatGPT advertising system actually operates.
In fact, ChatGPT has previously experimented with text-based ads, and now it has moved further into visual advertising, which shows that its commercialization is accelerating. Although OpenAI emphasizes that it will balance user experience, safety safeguards, and transparency, to me, the most valuable aspect of AI is still helping people think and create, rather than becoming another medium filled with ads. As advertising gradually enters the conversational AI space, perhaps we should start considering a question: how can we achieve a truly reasonable balance between commercial profit and user experience?
Source: KOCPC Chinese