OpenAI Explores Potential Advertising for ChatGPT

OpenAI is evaluating the possibility of introducing advertising into its artificial intelligence offerings as the organization seeks new avenues for revenue amid its transition to a profit-driven model.

According to Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s chief financial officer, the San Francisco-based company will be “thoughtful about when and where we implement them” as discussions about an advertising strategy take place.

Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, OpenAI has become a pivotal player in the AI landscape, with the chatbot providing human-like responses for tasks such as composing poetry or preparing business presentations. Currently, it serves over 250 million users weekly.

In a separate statement, Friar mentioned, “Our current business is experiencing rapid growth, and we see significant opportunities within our existing business model. While we’re open to exploring other revenue streams in the future, we have no active plans to pursue advertising.”

The 51-year-old executive from Northern Ireland has held senior positions at Salesforce and Nextdoor, bringing valuable experience to her role.

In her interview with the Financial Times, Friar emphasized the extensive experience she and Kevin Weil, OpenAI’s chief product officer, possess, particularly as Weil has a background in developing ad-supported products for major tech firms like Instagram and X.

“The good news with Kevin Weil at the wheel with product is that he came from Instagram. He knows how this [introducing ads] works,” Friar stated.

OpenAI’s latest funding round valued the company at $157 billion, raising $6.6 billion from investors in one of the largest private funding efforts recorded.

This fundraising was notably led by Thrive Capital, alongside participation from significant investors such as Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Khosla Ventures, and Fidelity Management & Research Company.

OpenAI is actively seeking methods to enhance its revenue following its announcement to shift from its original non-profit foundation established in 2015 by prominent figures including Elon Musk to a for-profit approach.

One substantial source of revenue for OpenAI comes from its application programming interface (API), which enables businesses and developers to utilize its technology. However, the costs associated with building advanced AI models have resulted in heavy expenditures, leading the company to project a loss of $5 billion for this year.

Separately, Elon Musk has initiated legal action in federal court aiming to prevent the company from switching to a fully profit-driven operation.

An OpenAI spokesperson responded, stating, “Elon’s fourth attempt, which again recycles the same baseless complaints, continues to be utterly without merit.”

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