OpenAI has disabled certain app suggestions in ChatGPT after paying subscribers reported seeing messages that resembled advertising, with executives acknowledging the company “fell short” in how the promotional content appeared, even as it denied running any live advertising tests.
User Complaints and Executive Responses
The response followed posts from ChatGPT subscribers who said they were shown promotional-style messages referencing companies such as Peloton and Target. OpenAI chief research officer Mark Chen and other executives addressed the complaints directly on social media.
OpenAI said the messages were part of tests related to the ChatGPT app platform announced in October and were intended only to surface third-party apps built on that platform, with what the company described as “no financial component” attached to the suggestions. One user who initially raised the issue responded skeptically to that explanation.
ChatGPT head Nick Turley also commented on Friday, saying there was widespread confusion surrounding rumors of ads in ChatGPT. “There are no live tests for ads — any screenshots you’ve seen are either not real or not ads,” Turley wrote. He added that if the company were to pursue advertising in the future, it would do so cautiously to protect user trust.
OpenAI Acknowledges Design Shortcomings
Earlier the same day, Chen issued a more apologetic statement, saying the issue went beyond simple misunderstanding. He said suggestions that feel like advertisements must be handled carefully and that OpenAI did not meet that standard.
“We fell short,” Chen wrote. He added that OpenAI has turned off the suggestion feature while it works to improve model precision. The company is also developing additional user controls to allow people to reduce or disable such suggestions if they do not find them useful.
Advertising Strategy and Internal Priorities
Earlier this year, former Instacart and Facebook executive Fidji Sumo joined OpenAI as chief executive of applications. Her appointment was widely seen as a move that could lead to the development of an advertising business within the company.
However, The Wall Street Journal reported that a recent internal memo from OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman declared a “code red,” shifting focus toward improving the core quality of ChatGPT. According to the report, other initiatives, including advertising-related projects, were being deferred in favor of platform performance and reliability.
Featured image credits: Levart_Photographer via Unsplash
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