Sam Altman's Last Resort

OpenAI is running out of levers. ChatGPT adding ads is the clearest signal yet.

Starting now, some users of the free and $8/month ChatGPT Go tier will see “Sponsored Recommendations” beneath responses, targeted based on conversation history but excluded from health, politics, and users under 18. Premium tiers, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, remain ad-free. OpenAI promises to never sell user data or let ads influence answers.

Sam Altman, who in 2024 called ads a “last resort” now says he “wasn’t totally against it” if it didn’t violate user trust. That’s the signal!

The math is brutal. OpenAI projects $20B ARR against $17B burn, with an IPO planned for late 2026. Every revenue lever counts. Ads are not just monetization, they are a slippery slope. One major AI provider rolls out in-chat personalization, and the rest will follow. Model providers have unprecedented access to private information, and using it to drive ads inside conversations crosses a line.

The principle is simple: when it’s free, you’re the product. I’ll happily pay to avoid ads. This isn’t just about money, it’s about trust. OpenAI is pre-IPO, running every lever it can, and users are the test group.

The real question is, at what point does monetization start defining product experience and trust? If free or $8/month ChatGPT means in-chat ads, are we okay with principle being sold first?