ChatGPT ads launch in US

Hi ,

OpenAI just announced ads are coming to ChatGPT.

Starting in the U.S., free and Go tier users ($8/month) will see targeted ads at the bottom of conversations.

Ads will be based on the topic you're discussing. You can dismiss them, see why you're shown them, and turn off personalization.

Pro, Plus, Business, and Enterprise tiers won't get ads. No ads for users under 18.

OpenAI says ads won't influence ChatGPT's answers and they won't sell your data to advertisers.

This is how OpenAI makes money beyond subscriptions.

But first, today's prompt and marketing lesson (then why this changes AI platforms...)

🔥 Prompt of the Day 🔥

Fractional Executive Pitch Generator: Use ChatGPT or Claude

Create One High-Value Advisory Positioning System

Act as an executive headhunter and positioning strategist. Create one fractional C-suite pitch for [YOUR IDEAL ROLE] that commands executive rates for advisory hours.

Essential Details:

• Leadership Background: [EXPERIENCE SUMMARY]

• Target Role: [CMO/CTO/COO/DIRECTOR LEVEL]

• Ideal Client Type: [COMPANY SIZE/INDUSTRY]

• Time Commitment: [HOURS PER WEEK/MONTH]

• Desired Monthly Retainer: [TARGET RATE]

• Core Expertise: [YOUR SPECIALIZATION]

Create one positioning system including:

• Fractional executive pitch (why companies need you)

• High-impact value proposition (strategic vs tactical work)

• Time-to-value justification (1-2 hours delivers results)

• Monthly retainer framework (pricing rationale)

• Top 3 deliverables (low time, high intellectual capital)

• Client qualification criteria (who's the right fit)

• Objection handling scripts (addressing concerns)

Command executive rates without full-time commitment.

✅ Marketing Monday ✅

Stop Answering Questions Nobody Asked

Most content creators are having conversations with themselves.

They write what they think is interesting. They create what they assume people want. They answer questions nobody is actually asking.

This wastes everyone's time.

Your audience has burning questions right now. But you're not listening.

The Problem

You spend hours creating a guide to something you think matters. You publish it with excitement.

Then silence. No engagement. No shares. No responses.

Why? Because you created content for an imaginary audience, not the real one.

The real audience is asking specific questions. You're just not paying attention to what those questions are.

What Actually Works

Listen before you create anything.

Your audience is already telling you exactly what they want to know. In search queries. In comments. In DMs. In support tickets.

Monitor what people search in your industry. Use tools like AnswerThePublic or Google's "People also ask." See what actual humans are typing into search bars.

Read comments and DMs for question patterns. When three people ask similar questions, that's your content topic.

Create content that directly answers real queries. Not what you think is important. What they're actively seeking answers to.

Test question-style headlines versus statements. "How do I fix X?" outperforms "The complete guide to X" because it matches search intent.

Keep addressing actual curiosity, not assumed needs.

Why This Works

When you answer real questions, you're meeting people where they already are.

They're searching for that answer. You provide it. Instant value.

When you create content based on assumptions, you're trying to create demand for information nobody wanted in the first place.

One approach builds authority. The other builds frustration.

Real Example

I see this constantly with AI content.

Creator A writes: "The future of AI in marketing" (what they find interesting)

Creator B writes: "How do I stop ChatGPT from making my emails sound robotic?" (what people actually ask)

Creator B gets 10x the engagement. Because they answered a real question people are typing into search bars and asking in communities.

Creator A gets ignored. Because nobody woke up today wondering about "the future of AI in marketing." They woke up frustrated that their AI-generated emails sound fake.

How to Find the Real Questions

Check your DMs and emails. What do people ask you repeatedly? That's your content.

Look at Google autocomplete. Type your topic + "how to" or "why does" and see what Google suggests. Those are real searches.

Read Reddit and community forums in your niche. What questions get asked over and over? Answer those.

Ask your audience directly. "What's your biggest question about X?" The responses are your content calendar.

Track support tickets or customer questions. The most common questions become blog posts, videos, or guides.

Questions Answered Build Authority Fastest

When someone searches for an answer and finds yours, you become their go-to resource.

When someone scrolls past your content because it's not relevant to what they're wondering about, you become noise.

The fastest path to authority is being the person who consistently answers the questions your audience is actually asking.

Not the questions you wish they were asking. Not the questions you think are more important. The actual questions they have right now.

What to Do Next

Stop creating content based on what you find interesting.

Start creating content based on what your audience is actively searching for.

Spend 30 minutes listening before you spend 3 hours creating.

The content that answers real questions always wins.

Did You Know?

Your fitness tracker's AI deliberately overestimates calories burned during exercises it wants you to repeat, using psychological manipulation to shape workout habits.

🗞️ Breaking AI News 🗞️

ChatGPT Introduces Targeted Ads

OpenAI announced Friday that it will begin testing ads in ChatGPT for free and Go tier users in the U.S.

The company, currently valued at $500 billion, has been searching for sustainable revenue models beyond subscriptions.

Advertising is the answer.

How It Works

Ads will appear at the bottom of a user's conversation.

They'll be targeted to the topic of discussion. If you're asking about vacation planning, you might see travel ads. If you're asking about productivity, you might see software ads.

Users will have some control:

• Dismiss ads they don't want to see

• See explanations for why they're shown particular ads

• Turn off personalization (defeats the targeted nature)

OpenAI commits not to serve ads to users it believes are under 18.

Which Tiers Get Ads

Free tier: Gets ads.

Go tier ($8/month): Gets ads. (Go accounts launched globally on Friday.)

Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise: No ads. These paid tiers remain ad-free.

The Promises

OpenAI says ChatGPT will maintain "answer independence." Ads will not influence the answers the chatbot serves to users.

The company also promises not to sell users' data to advertisers.

Why This Strategy Works

This could pay off in two ways:

For free and Go tier users, OpenAI stands to make significant ad revenue. With millions of users, even modest ad rates add up fast.

For users who appreciate the app but hate ads, this could drive subscriptions to more expensive ad-free tiers. Some percentage of free users will pay to remove ads.

The Mission Statement

OpenAI wants everyone to know it's only adding ads to help the world.

In Friday's blog post, the company promised that its "pursuit of advertising is always in support of" its mission: that AGI "benefits all of humanity."

Translation: We need money to keep this free. Ads fund free access.

Why This Matters

This is OpenAI acknowledging that subscription revenue alone won't sustain free access at scale.

The conversation around "how will OpenAI make money" has been ongoing. The answer is now clear: ads for free users, subscriptions for everyone else.

This also changes the AI platform landscape. If ChatGPT introduces ads, expect Google's Gemini, Anthropic's Claude, and others to follow.

Free AI tools were never going to stay free forever. The compute costs are massive. Someone has to pay.

The question was always: Will users pay with money (subscriptions) or attention (ads)?

OpenAI's answer: Both. Free users pay with attention. Premium users pay with money.

What This Means for Users

If you're on the free tier, your ChatGPT experience is about to include ads.

If you value an ad-free experience, you'll need to upgrade to Plus ($20/month), Pro ($200/month), or higher.

If you're a business using ChatGPT, this is a reminder that free tools come with trade-offs. Either pay for the product, or you become the product (via ad targeting).

What This Means for AI Platforms

Every AI company is watching this experiment.

If OpenAI successfully monetizes free users via ads without mass exodus, every other platform will follow.

If users revolt and churn increases, the industry will reconsider.

But the economics are clear: AI compute is expensive. Free access requires revenue. Ads are the most proven model.

Expect this to become standard across AI platforms by 2027.

Over to You...

Is this the beginning of all AI tools becoming ad-supported or just OpenAI's choice?

Let me know what you think happens next.

To AI's revenue future,

Jeff J. Hunter 
Founder, AI Persona Method | TheTip.ai

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