OpenAI announced today that it will test a new visual ad format inside ChatGPT, starting with image generation, later this month in the US. If you make product mockups, listing photos or social graphics in ChatGPT, here's what's changing, what isn't, and the settings worth checking this week.

If you use ChatGPT to make product images, the space around that work is about to change. On October 5, OpenAI announced a new kind of ad for ChatGPT, and the first place it will test it is the image generator.

What happened

OpenAI's announcement covers four things:

• A new visual ad format. These ads use images to show product inspiration, how a product is used, or the experiences a service makes possible.
• Image generation goes first. In OpenAI's words: "Initially, we'll test this new ad format during image generation in ChatGPT. Ads will be clearly labeled, and remain separate from the image being created."
• A limited start. Testing begins later this month in the US with an initial group of advertisers. Not everyone will see these ads right away.
• More tools for advertisers. OpenAI expanded how advertisers measure results and added brand-safety partnerships with DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science. Businesses can sign up to advertise at ads.openai.com.

Ads themselves aren't new. OpenAI's help center says ad testing in the US started on February 9, 2026, with ads appearing below ChatGPT's responses. What's new is the format, and where it shows up: next to the images you create.

Why it matters

ChatGPT is now two things at once: a tool you work in and a place where businesses pay to reach people. OpenAI is direct about why. It says ChatGPT reaches 1.2 billion people each week, and that advertising lets it serve a much larger market than subscriptions alone.

OpenAI also says advertising doesn't influence ChatGPT's answers, and its help center states that ads run on separate systems from the chat model. That's OpenAI's stated policy, and it's specific and written down, which is worth something. It's also not something an outside reader can verify.

For creative sellers, the image piece is the part to notice. According to OpenAI's help center, ads are chosen using signals that include the context and intent of your current conversation. Our reading: a seller generating images of handmade candles could see ads connected to what they're making. OpenAI hasn't shown how matching will work for the new image format yet, so treat that as a likely example, not a confirmed one.

And this isn't the last change. OpenAI says it will keep evolving its ad platform "with new formats and capabilities."

What it means for a small business

You may be wearing two hats here.

As someone who uses ChatGPT for your business:

• Which plan you're on decides whether you see ads. OpenAI's help center says ads may appear on the Free and Go plans. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts don't have ads.
• Going ad-free on the Free plan has a catch for image makers. OpenAI offers an "Ads-Free" option on Free, but it comes with lower usage limits and no access to some tools, including image generation.
• Your chats can shape which ads you see. If ad personalization is on, OpenAI may use signals from your broader ChatGPT use, and if memory is on, your memories and recent chats, to choose ads. OpenAI says advertisers don't receive your chats, memories or personal details, only aggregated results like views and clicks.

As a possible advertiser:

• It's a real new channel, and an early one. OpenAI's announcement includes results from a few brands, reported by OpenAI's measurement partners. Those are examples chosen for a launch announcement, not independent data, and OpenAI itself describes its work on measuring true ad impact as being in its early stages.

Underneath both hats is one bigger point. The tool you make your brand's images in will keep changing: new ads, new formats, new plans. Your brand shouldn't change with it. If your brand voice, product details and image style only live in old chat threads, every change to the tool is a chance for your output to drift. Written down in a document you control, they stay the same no matter which plan, setting or tool you use next.

What to do next

1. Check your plan. Look in ChatGPT's settings to see which plan you're on. If it's Free or Go, ads may appear, including during image generation once the test reaches you.
2. Set your ad controls on purpose. In Settings > Ad Controls you can turn ad personalization off, choose whether past chats and memory are used for ads, and clear your ads data. OpenAI also says Temporary Chats don't show ads.
3. Decide which plan your business work runs on, and write it down. One line is enough. If more than one person makes content for your brand in ChatGPT, everyone should be working from the same answer.
4. If you're tempted to advertise, run it as a test. Set a small budget cap, decide in advance what result would count as "working," and compare it with a channel you already use before spending more.
5. Move your brand rules out of your chat history. Put your brand voice, product details, image style and the things AI should never do in one document, and reuse it every time you start new work.

If you want a structure for step 5, Scalable Studio System's Build Your AI Project God Mode — Complete Kit ($97, on Payhip) walks you through setting up a structured AI project inside a tool like ChatGPT or Claude Projects. Its Organize stage gives you a source-of-truth structure for your project documents, and its Define stage includes a 12-part Instruction Core template for how the AI should work. It's a self-guided framework, not a done-for-you service, and it won't change which ads you see. What it does is keep your brand rules in documents you own, whatever the tool does next.

Ads in ChatGPT are OpenAI's decision. How your brand shows up in the work you make there is still yours.

Sources

• OpenAI — Building advertising for the way people use AI — https://openai.com/index/new-chatgpt-ads-format-and-measurement/
• OpenAI Help Center — Ads in ChatGPT — https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001047-ads-in-chatgpt
• BleepingComputer — OpenAI will show visual ads in ChatGPT while you generate images — https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/artificial-intelligence/openai-will-show-visual-ads-in-chatgpt-while-you-generate-images/