ChatGPT is moving towards advertising

AI platforms are evolving. And with them, the logic of advertising, data usage, and trust itself is changing.

Recent announcements have made this especially clear.

Meta has officially confirmed that, from 16 December, data from user interactions with its AI chats will be used to personalise content and advertising.

In effect, this marks a shift towards dialogue-based targeting, rather than traditional behaviour-based models.

At the same time, OpenAI has announced plans to test advertising in ChatGPT for free-tier users.
With important caveats: responses will not be influenced by ads, advertising will be clearly separated and labelled, and paid subscriptions will remain ad-free.

Earlier still, elements related to future advertising modules were identified in the code of the ChatGPT mobile app.

Even without high-profile announcements, this is a sufficiently transparent signal of the direction in which the industry is moving.

What is actually changing?

First, the boundary between “AI advice” and commercial recommendation is becoming thinner. In a conversational interface, it may be increasingly difficult for users to distinguish neutral responses from promotion — even where disclosure is present.

Second, a new level of personalisation is emerging. AI works not only with interests, but with intent, context, and state.
This represents a fundamentally different quality of targeting, potentially far more powerful than traditional cookie-based models.

Third, the risk of manipulation increases.
Dialogue creates a sense of trust and psychological safety. Any native integration in such an environment is perceived as softer and more persuasive than conventional advertising.

Fourth, the industry is testing new formats.
Sponsored messages, promoted models, action buttons for now, these remain scenarios rather than established practice. But the direction is already clear.

And finally, ethics.
How do we ensure transparency and user control when a single interface combines:
• information search,
• recommendations, and
• the platform’s commercial interests?

We are entering a period in which AI becomes a new advertising inventory.

And the way the rules are defined now will determine the most critical factor of all: trust.

There is no need to wait for the future.
This is already the working agenda.