Generative AI giant OpenAI is breaking its long-standing silence on commercial advertising. According to The Information, citing informed sources, its team is deeply exploring how to integrate advertising solutions into the conversational interactions of ChatGPT, aiming to balance profitability with user experience.

According to the disclosed information, OpenAI employees are researching ways to adjust AI models so that sponsored information can appear with higher priority in responses when users ask questions related to consumption and shopping. For example, when a user asks for advice on a type of skincare product, the system may prioritize recommending products from partner merchants. Currently, the team is designing various presentation prototypes, including displaying sponsored content in a sidebar, and plans to clearly label the advertisements to ensure transparency.

OpenAI internally believes that ChatGPT has gathered a large amount of interest cues from user conversations, and this "conversational marketing" offers higher precision compared to traditional social media ads. To avoid user annoyance, the company envisions a "modest" approach: advertisements may not appear at the beginning of the conversation but rather be targeted at specific stages when users show clear purchase or service needs.

Although Altman has repeatedly expressed a lack of enthusiasm for building an advertising empire, OpenAI has frequently hired advertising industry executives and introduced shopping features over the past year, which clearly indicates that the groundwork for launching an advertising business has been laid.

Key points:

  • 💰 Exploring a new revenue model: OpenAI plans to introduce sponsored content into ChatGPT conversations, achieving commercialization by increasing the weight of sponsored information.

  • 🎯 Precise conversational marketing: Using AI to capture purchasing intent from user conversations, embedding advertisements in recommendations or sidebars in a more natural way.

  • 🛡️ Emphasizing restraint and transparency: The plan includes clearly labeling advertised content and ensuring that ads only appear at specific stages of the conversation to maintain user trust.