ChatGPT Now Shows You Ads, But There's A Free Way To Avoid Them

ChatGPT Now Shows You Ads, But There’s a Free Way to Avoid Them

Last updated: 2026/02/10 at 6:22 AM

News Room Published 10 February 2026

A few weeks after confirming plans to test ads on ChatGPT, they’re here and appearing for all free users in the US. OpenAI began rolling out the feature across all logged-in adult users on Monday, Feb. 9.

The ads appear as a sponsored section at the bottom of ChatGPT results, with OpenAI promising that its AI won’t include ads in its answers.

OpenAI says, “Answers are optimized based on what’s most helpful to you. When you see an ad, they are always clearly labeled as sponsored and visually separated from the organic answer.”

It will use your conversation history, the current topic you’re discussing, and your interactions with other ads in ChatGPT to influence what you’re shown. Think of it like how Google ads know what you’ve previously searched for and recommend similar products around organic results.

To avoid ads, you’ll need to be a subscriber to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, or one of the brand’s business or education options. It means you have to pay at least $20 a month to avoid ads without any limitations.

OpenAI’s newest $8 ChatGPT Go subscription, which launched in January for US users, will show ads.

If you don’t want ads or pay for ChatGPT, there’s a way to opt out, but it’ll limit how much you can use the AI. You’ll have to agree to fewer back-and-forth messages. To do so, head to your Profile > Settings > Ad controls > Change plan to go ad-free > Reduce message limits.

It’ll ask you to confirm you’re happy to receive fewer messages before proceeding, but the brand hasn’t yet shared how many messages you’ll be able to use. We’ll have to wait and see when users who have opted for this begin to see restrictions kick in.

(Credit: OpenAI)

For now, you can continue using ChatGPT without signing in to avoid ads. However, it’s not clear how long that will stay the case, and you’ll lose out on benefits such as ChatGPT learning about you to improve its results.

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OpenAI says, “Our focus with this test is learning. We’re paying close attention to feedback so we can make sure ads feel useful and fit naturally into the ChatGPT experience before expanding.”

Those comments suggest we may see rapid changes in how the brand implements ads over the coming months.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.