OpenAI's potential plan to incorporate ads in products like ChatGP is hardly surprising — but should still serve as a wake-up call for AI makers and users. Why it matters: AI chatbots cost a fortune to run and remain available for free.

OpenAI is looking at adding advertisements alongside its artificial intelligence responses, according to company CFO Sarah Friar

OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode feature to the web, letting users talk to the AI chatbot right from their browser.

Predictions suggest that OpenAI might release a new model before the year’s end. In the October Reddit AMA, Altman confirmed that "very good releases" are coming but added that none of them will be called ChatGPT-5. Instead, OpenAI’s focus will be on refining other models like GPT-4 and o1, which were released this year.

Weighty Proposition They're not copping to much yet, but recent hiring activity and wishy-washy statements make it seem an awful lot like OpenAI is planning to introduce ads into its suite of products.

OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT, is reportedly playing around with the potential of introducing advertising as a new revenue stream for its AI tool. If it went forward with this plan, it would be a complete reversal from its initial premise for one of the world’s most valuable AI companies.

Is OpenAI discussing plans for an ad model? Maybe. But don't expect advertising to appear in ChatGPT anytime soon.