The advertising business of ChatGPT now exceeds US$ 1 billion annually

ChatGPT has reached an annualized rate exceeding US$ 1 billion in advertising revenue, just 200 days after the first ads appeared in February.

OpenAI aims to make advertising a significant source of revenue before a potential IPO. Meanwhile, the European Commission classified ChatGPT as a major online search engine.

How ChatGPT's advertising business works

The figure of US$ 1 billion corresponds to an annualized rate. It does not mean that OpenAI has billed that amount during the past 200 days.

It is a 12-month projection based on the current level of revenue. The amount may increase or decrease depending on the expansion of the advertising system.

OpenAI estimates that advertising will generate US$ 2.5 billion by 2026, a target that significantly exceeds the current rate.

Ads appear in the free plan and in the Go plan. According to OpenAI, they are identified and managed separately from the system that generates responses.

The company also assures that advertisers cannot access users' private conversations.

In which countries ChatGPT's advertising works

The advertising system of ChatGPT is already operational in more than 40 countries. OpenAI has also launched a platform for advertisers to create and manage their campaigns directly.

The tool is available for advertisers from India, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

According to Reuters, OpenAI's total revenue already exceeds US$ 40 billion at an annualized rate, almost double the level recorded at the end of 2025.

Why OpenAI is betting on advertising before going public

OpenAI is working on an IPO and presented the growth of its advertising business as a sign that it can diversify its revenue.

The strategy aims to add a source of billing beyond subscriptions. The development may also provide resources to sustain the infrastructure needed to offer artificial intelligence.

Among those costs are processing capacity, energy, and data center infrastructure.

Europe begins to treat ChatGPT as a search engine

The European Commission classified ChatGPT as a major online search engine under the Digital Services Act.

The regulation establishes special obligations for digital platforms that exceed 45 million monthly users in the European Union.

OpenAI reported an average of 159.1 million European users per month during the six months ending in March.

The European Commission considered that ChatGPT functions as a hybrid service, as it can search for information on the internet to respond to queries. The new obligations will begin to apply at the end of December.