OpenAI's ChatGPT Ads reaches $1 billion annual revenue in under 200 days

OpenAI announced that its ChatGPT Ads platform reached $1 billion in annual revenue less than 200 days after its US launch in February 2026, and that ad buying through Ads Manager will expand to India, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa starting August 31.

Compiled by Sergey KostenchukPublished 2026-08-31Updated 2026-09-18

2026-08-31 Business OpenAI

💼 ChatGPT Ads reaches $1 billion annual revenue in under 200 days

ChatGPT ads, launched in the US in February 2026, generated about $100 million in March. Starting August 31, buying through Ads Manager will open up in India, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

🌍 Advertising has become OpenAI's second major revenue stream alongside subscriptions, API, and enterprise products. Targeting is based on dialogue context rather than keywords; OpenAI has not disclosed the mechanics.

👤 Ads are shown to the free tier and Go subscribers — ChatGPT has over 1 billion weekly active users. OpenAI promises ad labeling, and private conversations are not available to advertisers. Marketers get Ads Manager with CPC bidding, conversions via Pixel/Conversions API, and CSV campaign upload.

Source 1: https://openai.com/index/expanding-access-to-ai-with-chatgpt-ads/ Source 2: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/31/open-ai-chatgpt-ads-revenue.html

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