ChatGPT to Sell Ads in 2026: Your AI Turns on You
2026 ChatGPT ads incoming—block AI "recommendations" before they sell you out.
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2026 may very well be the first year humanity needs to install “ad blockers” for AI.
Just this morning, according to a report by The Information, OpenAI employees are figuring out how to make ChatGPT prioritize displaying “sponsored content” when users ask relevant questions. For example, if you ask for mascara recommendations, you might see branded soft ads.
In recent weeks, OpenAI employees have also created prototypes of various ad display formats, including ones that could appear in ChatGPT’s interface sidebar.
From 2023 to 2024, Silicon Valley’s mainstream vision was elegant. Many were convinced that large language models could follow the SaaS model—users would pay $20 a month, just like subscribing to Netflix or Spotify, and enjoy clean, ad-free AI services.
But by this year, that fantasy has essentially collapsed.
Because AGI hasn’t arrived yet, but the bills have. It’s predictable that next year, more AI products will start tentatively “adding ads.” Some will be upfront about it, some will disguise them as recommendations and partnerships, and some will simply embed them in the interaction.
There’s a certain dark humor to this: while we’re still gazing up at the grand vision of AGI ruling the world, turns out the first survival skill it learned was making money through ads.
