OpenAI has squashed all widespread speculations regarding the integration of ads into its popular chatbot ChatGPT. A top company executive clarified that new images circulating on social media showing ad placements within the app are either fabricated or based on misinterpretation.
Nick Turley, VP and head of the ChatGPT app, took to social media to explicitly state that “there are no live tests for ads” currently running. In a social media post on X, he stated that user trust is a paramount priority and committed to approaching any potential future monetisation strategies with caution and respect for the user experience.
“I’m seeing lots of confusion about ads rumors in ChatGPT. There are no live tests for ads – any screenshots you’ve seen are either not real or not ads. If we do pursue ads, we’ll take a thoughtful approach. People trust ChatGPT, and anything we do will be designed to respect that,” said Nick Turley.
‘Code Red’ for ChatGPT amid Gemini competition
While the company is not currently testing ads, the discussion surrounding future monetisation is set against a backdrop of intense competitive pressure from rivals like Google. Separately, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently issued an internal memo describing the company’s competitive situation as a ‘code red,’ signalling a need to reallocate resources.
This internal alarm comes amid the resurgence of Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 3, which has been seen by analysts and experts as a serious competitive threat not only to ChatGPT but also to other major players like Anthropic and Meta in the AI space.
In response to this pressure, Altman instructed his employees to redirect their efforts toward immediately strengthening and upgrading the core ChatGPT experience. This enhanced effort means that OpenAI will temporarily scale back or slow down work on several other non-core initiatives, including those related to advertising and autonomous technologies, to focus all available resources on maintaining its lead in the generative AI space. T
High on alert post GPT 5.1 launch
This intense internal focus on strengthening ChatGPT is also linked to OpenAI’s latest AI model. The release of GPT 5.1 was expected to give OpenAI a lead in the AI space, promising superior responses and the ability to assign personalities to the model. OpenAI’s GPT-5.1 features dual models – GPT-5.1 Instant for swift, warmer, and more conversational interactions, and GPT-5.1 Thinking for deeper, adaptive reasoning on complex tasks like coding, math, and data analysis.
Key highlights include automatic query routing between models for better efficiency, enhanced instruction-following with reduced jargon and clearer explanations, expanded personality presets (such as Professional, Friendly, Quirky, and Cynical) for customisable tones, and developer tools like extended prompt caching, a “no reasoning” mode for low-latency use, and specialised coding capabilities via GPT-5.1-Codex-Max. Overall, it balances speed, intelligence, and usability, outperforming predecessors on benchmarks while minimising token usage for cost-effective performance.
