For a long time, there was simply no question of it. But, little by little, the leaders of OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, are considering financing their AI products by introducing advertising. Let’s take stock.
A reflection launched
In an interview given to Financial Timesthe financial director of the company valued at $150 billion outlined this path. Sarah Friar says: think about when and where we would implement them ».
She adds:
Our current business is growing rapidly and we see significant opportunities in our existing business model. While we are open to exploring other revenue streams in the future, we have no active plans to pursue advertising.
Initially very cautious about this idea, Sam Altman also seems to be becoming more and more open. Moreover, the British daily noticed that OpenAI has hired senior executives specializing in advertising from the Meta and Google groups, which seems to confirm this trend.
If the company is so interested in advertising, it is also because it is still far from having reached profitability despite the more than 250 million active weekly users on ChatGPT. It is expected to record 4 billion in revenue this year. But the costs of running its technology (chips, servers, electricity, etc.) are still much higher.
However, nothing is decided yet. Sarah Friar points out that advertising also has a negative impact, notably the fact that it is sensitive to fluctuations in the economic cycle and that this risks tilting OpenAI’s model from user satisfaction to that of advertisers.
Questions related to confidentiality and the private life of tools that know a lot about us could also quickly arise, even if the leaders do not mention them at the moment.
Perplexity already offers advertising
As a reminder, if ChatGPT is thinking about it, some of its competitors have already started. We recently told you about Perplexity, the AI-based search engine which is already experimenting with advertising suggestions on its service in the United States.
The company knows that the subject of confidentiality is important and specifies that its customers will never have access to users’ personal data. She adds: “These advertisements will not change our commitment to maintaining a trusted service that provides you with direct and unbiased answers to your questions. » More information in our previous article here.
