Here we go: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman once called it a 'last resort', but ChatGPT is about to get stuffed with ads
PC Gamer
“Ads plus AI is sort of uniquely unsettling to me. I kind of think of ads as a last resort for us for a business model”
Sam AltmanMay 2024- What you'll lose1/5
Free users later got the ads.
- Condescension0/5
Said politely enough.
- Tone-deafness0/5
Reasonable at the time.
- Doom0/5
None.
- Hypocrisy5/5
OpenAI announced ads in ChatGPT in January 2026.
Full time6 pitchforksof a possible 25
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The occasion
Event at Harvard University, May 2024.
Context
Speaking at Harvard in May 2024, Altman described ads combined with AI as 'uniquely unsettling' and ads as a last resort. In January 2026 OpenAI announced ads for ChatGPT's free and Go tiers, and Altman wrote that many people want a lot of AI and do not want to pay.
Crowd reaction
Critical commentary
PC Gamer's headline is 'Here we go' and it jokes 'if you believe that I have a bridge to sell you' about OpenAI's promise not to sell data to advertisers; The Irish Times writes 'that last resort has arrived' and warns of hyper-targeted ads built on ChatGPT memories.