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In the late-night rhythm of the tech world, OpenAI has once again dropped a major bomb: officially launching a full-scale ad platform. At the same time, ChatGPT has also introduced a brand-new default model, GPT-5.5Instant. While the new model has improved in reducing hallucinations and making responses more concise, the real commercial focus is that the once-pure chat window has officially become a marketing arena for brands.
From "Closed Testing" to "Opening the Doors"
Actually, the embedding of ads into ChatGPT was not a sudden idea. Since January this year, OpenAI had already started testing it on a small scale in regions such as the United States and Australia, targeting free users. The threshold at that time was extremely high, with a minimum ad spending requirement of $250,000.
Now, the gates have been fully opened. Business owners in the U.S. can directly register, top up their accounts, and set budgets in the backend. More importantly, the ad placement threshold has been lowered to $50,000. Despite this, the ad prices on ChatGPT are still shockingly high: the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) can reach up to $60, almost three times that of the Meta platform.
Why Are Ad Spaces So Expensive?
OpenAI dares to set high prices because of the "high-intent scenarios" of its users. When you ask an AI "what computer to buy" or "where insurance is cheaper," you are in a proactive decision-making state rather than passively scrolling through information feeds. This precise conversion potential gives AI ads the dominance of the peak era of search engines.
Additionally, the much-discussed "memory function" has revealed its commercial side at this moment. The AI's long-term memory of user habits allows for more accurate ad recommendations than traditional algorithms.
The Big Split in the AI Industry: Productivity vs. Attention
With the launch of the ad platform, AI products are heading down two completely different evolutionary paths:
Flow Entry Model (represented by OpenAI): It has 900 million weekly active users, most of whom are free users. For such products, free users are not charity targets but the core of the business model itself. To increase ad exposure, the product may become more "talkative," guiding conversations to extend user dwell time.
Pure Tool Model (represented by companies like Anthropic): They explicitly reject ads, with core revenue relying on enterprise subscriptions and API calls. These products pursue extreme efficiency, aiming for users to "finish work and leave quickly," with their value lying in saving time rather than consuming it.