ChatGPT will soon start showing adverts, according to leaked code for the chatbot.
The code includes references to an ‘ads feature’ with ‘bazaar content’, ‘search ad’ and ‘search ads carousel’ (see screenshot 1).
OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, would need to apply this code to the chatbot in order for it to show adverts.
The code suggests ads will appear only when ChatGPT shows results from the internet, rather than unprompted during a chat.
One ChatGPT user has already reported seeing adverts. Yuchen Jin wrote on X that the ad ‘Find a fitness class, Connect Peloton’ appeared while he was discussing with the chatbot a Podcast interview with Elon Musk (www.snipca.com/57330, see screenshot 2).
Roughly 800 million people use ChatGPT every week, up from 100 million in November 2023 and 300…
