OpenAI expands ChatGPT ads to Asia as 19-week-old advertising business gains momentum

OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Asian Markets

OpenAI has expanded its ad pilot program to Japan and Korea, marking a significant step in the company's monetization strategy as it seeks to diversify revenue sources amid intense AI development competition 1

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. The ChatGPT ads will appear on free versions and the Go plan, priced at ¥1,400 per month in Japan, but will not be shown to users under 18 or those subscribing to higher-priced tiers 1

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. Korea becomes the sixth market to feature ads after the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand 3

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. The expansion comes as OpenAI collaborates with Japanese marketing company Dentsu Digital and other partners to provide localized advertising experiences 1

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AI Advertising Business Shows Rapid Progress at Cannes Lions

At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, OpenAI executives showcased what Dave Dugan, the company's head of global ads solutions, described as "an entirely new ads product [and] an entirely new experience" 2

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. Despite being just 19 weeks old, the OpenAI advertising business has progressed quickly, introducing its ads pilot in the U.S., debuting an ad manager in beta, and adding international markets 2

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. The company has shifted from selling ads solely on a cost-per-mile basis to also offering a cost-per-click option, which now accounts for most ad spending on the platform 2

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. Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser stated plainly: "We are clearly in the advertising business now" 2

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. The company also presented its Codex coding tool to marketers ahead of a planned IPO 4

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Contextual Ads Target Commercial Intent Differently Than Search

OpenAI's approach to contextual ads represents a structural shift in how AI advertising captures commercial intent. Research from Similarweb revealed that 83% of queries triggering ads inside ChatGPT would never have activated a Google Shopping ad 2

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. AI assistants reach shoppers during problem-solving conversations, research sessions, and multi-turn exchanges where commercial intent develops gradually rather than arriving pre-labeled 2

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. OpenAI estimates that around 20% of ChatGPT queries may carry commercial intent, reaching users researching products and services 4

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. PYMNTS Intelligence found that 47% of online shoppers employed AI during their most recent purchase, with ChatGPT's share as a product research tool climbing from 2% to 30% in two years 2

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User Data Protection and Ad-Free Paid Plans Remain Core Principles

OpenAI has implemented three core principles for its ad rollout: keeping ChatGPT's responses independent from advertiser influence, protecting user conversation data and personal information from advertisers, and giving users control over their ad experience 3

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. Ads will be clearly labeled as sponsored content and kept visually separate from ChatGPT's generated responses, appearing in a separate section without influencing the chatbot's answers 1

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. Advertisers will have access only to aggregated performance metrics such as impressions and clicks, with no ability to view individual users' conversation history or personal data 3

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. Users on paid plans including Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu will not see advertisements 3

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. Ads will not be shown to accounts identified or predicted to belong to minors and will not appear in conversations involving sensitive topics such as mental health or politics 3

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Revenue Diversification Amid Ambitious Growth Targets

The advertising trial aims to expand OpenAI's revenue sources amid cutthroat competition in AI development, which requires huge investment 1

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. Dugan, who spent 17 years at Meta watching it surpass $100 billion in ad revenue, noted that OpenAI has reportedly told investors it will reach that goal within the next four years 2

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. Kim Kyoung-hoon, general manager of OpenAI Korea, emphasized that "advertising can help expand access to ChatGPT's useful AI capabilities for more people without cost barriers" 3

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. As the company refines its ad experience based on user feedback gathered during the pilot, the rapid international expansion and revenue diversification signal OpenAI's preparation for its planned public listing while maintaining its stated mission to ensure AI benefits all of humanity 3

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