ChatGPT Ads Expand to 89 Countries Across 26 New Markets

OpenAI is expanding advertising in ChatGPT to 26 additional countries, bringing ads to 89 countries worldwide, the company announced on October 21. Ads appear only on the Free and Go plans, while Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscriptions remain ad-free. OpenAI says more than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns in ChatGPT since ads launched just over eight months ago.

Where ChatGPT Ads Are Launching

The expansion follows earlier launches in Mexico and Brazil and recent rollouts across Europe, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Latin America accounts for the largest share of the new markets, with 14 more countries in the region, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru. The remaining launches cover Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Nigeria, South Africa, Serbia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan are named in the announcement.

OpenAI positions the launch as an opening for local businesses and regional brands as well as international companies. L’Oréal is quoted in the announcement as an early tester, describing ChatGPT as a place where consumers now discover and explore beauty products.

Businesses in those countries can buy ChatGPT ads through technology partners or through self-service access in OpenAI’s Ads Manager. OpenAI puts ChatGPT’s audience at more than 1.2 billion people each week and presents advertising as a way to fund free and low-cost access to the chatbot.

What Changes for Free and Go Users

For users in the new markets, ads can now appear next to conversations on the two cheapest tiers. OpenAI’s own example is someone planning meals for race week before a first marathon, who could see an ad for a grocery delivery service related to that conversation.

The company lists the rules it says ChatGPT ads follow under its ads principles:

• Conversations are kept private from advertisers
• OpenAI does not sell customer data
• Ads are clearly labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT’s answers
• Advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides

Only one way to avoid ads follows from the announcement: a paid Plus, Pro or Enterprise subscription, which OpenAI says will stay ad-free. Free and Go users in the newly added countries should expect ads mainly during shopping, comparison and planning conversations — the moments OpenAI describes as people still evaluating their options before deciding what to buy.

The rollout also widens OpenAI’s ad business beyond the markets where it first tested the format. According to the company, the next phase of growth will add more ad formats, objectives, buying options and measurement capabilities, and OpenAI is exploring ways for businesses to interact with consumers more natively inside ChatGPT. OpenAI has not published a timeline for those new formats, and the announcement names only some of the 26 new countries rather than the full list.