OpenAI's ChatGPT advertising business has achieved a $1 billion annualised revenue run rate within just 200 days of launching ads on the platform. According to Reuters, the milestone represents a rapid rise for a business that began testing ads on ChatGPT only about 200 days ago. The company has now expanded ChatGPT ads to more than 40 countries, with OpenAI announcing on Monday that it is expanding self-service advertising access across India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The advertising business is now part of a broader revenue mix that includes enterprise products, consumer subscriptions and usage-based application programming interfaces, as reported by Reuters. As per Moneycontrol, the company started testing ads in ChatGPT U.S. earlier this year and has steadily expanded to add advertisers and tap into more markets, banking on advertising to boost overall revenue growth ahead of a potential IPO.
OpenAI has officially launched ChatGPT advertisements in India, targeting users aged 18 and above on both Free and Go plans. According to Business Standard, the platform now serves 330 million unique monthly users in India in May 2026, representing a significant increase from 297 million in December 2025. The Go plan is priced at ₹399 per month in India, while users subscribed to Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education tiers will not see advertisements. OpenAI has selected WPP and Omnicom as its first agency partners for ChatGPT Ads in India, citing their relationships with brands across sectors and expertise in strategy, creative work, measurement, brand safety and campaign execution. Starting on Monday, advertisers across India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa can purchase ChatGPT ads directly via OpenAI's Ads Manager, a tool it has already rolled out in the United States. According to Reuters, small and medium-sized businesses now account for a material share of the advertising business, with advertisers outside the US representing a growing share of ad revenue, though specific figures were not disclosed.
The advertising platform has been significantly enhanced with AI-native features that expand beyond CPM and CPC bidding to support conversion optimization. As reported by OpenAI, the company introduced geotargeting and custom audiences to help advertisers reach more relevant customers, while expanded measurement capabilities include the OpenAI Pixel, Conversions API, and third-party measurement integrations. The platform offers self-serve advertising capabilities for small and medium businesses, enabling companies to create and manage ads independently without requiring agency support. New Street Research analysts expect the next step will be launching OpenAI Ads Manager to local advertisers in these markets within the next 2-4 months. OpenAI will also launch self-serve access to ChatGPT Ads Manager in India from September 4, allowing businesses of different sizes to advertise directly with daily budgets starting at ₹725. Ads Manager has been helpful in drawing small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to advertise on ChatGPT, with SMBs now representing a material share of its ads business, as reported by Moneycontrol.
OpenAI has emphasized that advertisers will not be able to influence ChatGPT's responses, with the chatbot's answers continuing to be optimized around what is most helpful to users. According to Business Standard, the ads will not affect how ChatGPT generates answers, ensuring the platform's core functionality remains unchanged. The company has implemented strict privacy protections, stating that users' chats, chat history, memories, or personal details are inaccessible to advertisers and that it does not sell user data to advertisers. Instead, advertisers will receive aggregate campaign-performance information, such as impressions and clicks. The company also confirmed that ads will not be shown to accounts where the user has indicated they are under 18, or where the company determines that the user is a minor. Additionally, ads will not appear alongside sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health, or politics. For OpenAI, competing in the advertising industry means challenging the dominance of Alphabet's Google and Facebook parent Meta, both of which rake in hundreds of billions in ad revenue annually.
According to Kaspersky Safe Kids data on app usage in India over the last six months, ChatGPT now accounts for 2.41% of the Top 20 apps used by children, placing it within the Top 10 at 7th position. The platform shares this ranking with established names: YouTube leads at 30.68%, followed by WhatsApp at 29.14%, Instagram at 10.24%, Chrome at 9.35%, Facebook at 2.55%, and Brave at 2.50%. ChatGPT sits just ahead of Zoom (2.38%), Roblox (1.79%), and Telegram (1.51%), making it the only AI chatbot to break into the Top 10 apps used by kids in India during this period. This shift suggests children are turning to AI chatbots for more than entertainment, with a single AI tool climbing high enough in just six months to outrank established apps like Zoom, Roblox, and Telegram.
OpenAI's ChatGPT Sponsored ad placements have expanded to 31 European markets this week, marking the platform's largest expansion to date. According to OpenAI, the rollout includes Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria, giving marketers across Europe new ways to reach users while they explore and make decisions. As reported by Mint, the company's CEO Dugan emphasized that the company serves over 1 billion weekly active users worldwide. The platform's 'Go' subscription tier is positioned as OpenAI's cheapest paid plan globally, reflecting the company's focus on accessibility and affordability. New Street Research notes that the original markets including the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, followed by the U.K. this summer, were predominantly English-speaking, while expansion into Mexico and Brazil brought the platform into major Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking markets. Over 50 brands were expected to go live with ads this week, demonstrating strong early adoption of the advertising platform. However, Emarketer AI analyst Nate Elliott noted that the announcement was "incredibly impressive and terribly disappointing," as the $1 billion annualized revenue run rate suggests OpenAI is falling well short of its $2.5 billion advertising revenue target for 2026. The new revenue stream also comes as OpenAI prepares for its next phase of growth, with the company having confidentially filed for a US initial public offering, according to Reuters, with a potential listing expected in 2027 or earlier.
