ChatGPT found a new place to put advertisements.

Since last August, there have been ads in ChatGPT, particularly when planning a trip, comparing products, or looking for a service. But in a press release published on October 5, 2026, OpenAI introduced a new format: ads during image generation, while the user waits.First tests in the United States later this month.

Ads in ChatGPT image generation

Image generation with ChatGPT has become commonplace: you write a prompt and wait for the chatbot to generate the desired image before downloading or sharing it. But during the generation, nothing happens except for an animation to keep the user waiting. This is precisely the moment OpenAI wants to use to display sponsored ads. The perfect spot, because during that time, the user does nothing, unlike when they want to read a ChatGPT response.

The company seeks to reassure: “Ads will be clearly labeled and will remain distinct from the image being created.” In the screenshot shown by OpenAI, an ad can be seen between the image-generation animation and the text field for entering the query. It also specifies that these ads will not influence the images generated by ChatGPT. And with 1.2 billion weekly users, OpenAI is sure to have an audience to show these ads to. As with the ads that already exist, one imagines that Pro and Enterprise plan subscribers will not see them. The first public tests will begin in the United States this month; for now, OpenAI has not indicated how it plans to proceed from there.

In European Union countries, OpenAI will have to show its hand

Last August, ChatGPT was designated a “very large online search engine” by the European Commission under the Digital Services Act, or DSA. This means that the chatbot has reached at least 45 million monthly users in the European Union. OpenAI therefore has four months to comply with the additional obligations provided for under the DSA: the deadline is thus set for the end of December 2026.

A new one that will essentially add transparency, oversight and risk-assessment obligations for ChatGPT. OpenAI will have to publish a detailed public registry of all advertisements served in EU countries. These advertising registries are useful for NGOs, whistleblowers and consumer associations to monitor scam campaigns, foreign state propaganda operations or undeclared political advertising. They make it possible to identify the mechanisms at work, measure users’ exposure and alert the authorities.

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Source: TNW