OpenAI announced it would start showing ads inside ChatGPT in January 2026, and by February, it was testing them. Now, a leaked presentation from an ad tech company shows how those slots are being sold to brands.
And yes, some employees have already left the company over the move.
Ad industry publication ADWEEK obtained the presentation, revealing that StackAdapt—a programmatic ad platform using AI and machine learning—is actively pitching advertisers on buying space within ChatGPT. The deck, titled "OpenAI×StackAdapt Exclusive Pilot Program," was shared with select buyers on March 27, 2026, and frames ChatGPT ads as being in an early testing phase.
According to the materials, StackAdapt is selling ChatGPT ad inventory for a cost per thousand impressions (CPM) of $15 to $60, on top of platform and management fees. The minimum spend is $50,000.
While OpenAI had previously indicated a minimum contract value of $200,000 for ChatGPT ads, the presentation suggests cheaper entry points were available.
The deck positions ChatGPT ads as "early access to a new 'discovery layer' targeting users researching and comparing products on ChatGPT." It also states, "StackAdapt has partnered with OpenAI to enable advertising within ChatGPT, one of the world's fastest-growing consumer platforms."
Over on Hacker News, the reaction was mixed. One user welcomed the idea, saying, "I've accessed ChatGPT many times with specific purchase intent like 'I want something like X and Y, but also Z.' Sometimes it shows hallucinated products that don't exist, other times it shows real products but with no working purchase links, so I end up searching on Google and buying there. ChatGPT has lost at least $100 from me. If it just presented Amazon links, I'd definitely have clicked buy."
Another comment was more skeptical: "What's surprising is that OpenAI is partnering with a third party for ads. It's likely lower security, lower margin (because of middleman fees), harder to access, and may not work well. The ex-Meta execs OpenAI hired all seem more sensible, so maybe I'm missing something." This strategic shift towards monetization comes as OpenAI is also making major moves in other areas, like unleashing a high-clearance AI model for cybersecurity professionals and upgrading its toolkit for building persistent AI assistants.