Details shared with investors, and reported by Axios, outline a strong growth path. The company expects ad revenue to reach $11 billion in 2027, then $25 billion in 2028, and $53 billion in 2029.

These figures depend on one key assumption where OpenAI believes its products could reach 2.75 billion weekly users by the end of the decade.

Early this year, OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT for some users in the United States. The test focused on people using the free tier and the lower-priced Go plan.

Within six weeks, the pilot crossed $100 million in annualised revenue. By March, more than 600 advertisers had signed up.

That early traction gives a clearer picture of where the company is heading. Ad is no longer an experiment but an indispensable part of how OpenAI plans to make more revenue, alongside subscriptions and enterprise deals.

The market is large but crowded. Alphabet reported $294.69 billion in advertising revenue in 2025, while Meta posted $196.18 billion.

OpenAI is trying to take a share of that ad market by using a different advantage, ultimately boosting revenue. In chat-based systems, users usually state exactly what they want, which could make adverts more precise.

Still, there are issues. Some analysts have warned that showing ads inside ChatGPT could affect how people trust the service but OpenAI says it has not seen that so far.

The company reports low dismissal rates and no drop in its trust metrics since the pilot began.

Not everyone is taking the same route. Competitor Anthropic has said its Claude chatbot will remain ad-free, drawing a line between the two approaches.

Meanwhile, advertising is expected to carry a large share of OpenAI’s revenue as it tries to keep up with the high cost of building and running its AI systems.

The company is also strengthening itself as a business that can scale in the same way as the largest internet platforms, with ads being a big part of that plan.

That’s why, Chily de la Viesca, managing director of Passion Digital, a marketing company focused on LLM growth is sharing the ways that brands can rank higher in LLMs, and increase their visibility, as well as what this new ad feature actually means for marketers.

Regarding OpenAI’s decision to have ads on ChatGPT, Chily de la Viesca said:

“We believe the introduction of ads in ChatGPT represents a shift in digital discovery, moving advertising from traditional search result pages into conversational, context-driven experiences where relevance and user intent matter more than ever. Unlike banner or PPC formats, ChatGPT ads are likely to be subtle, integrated placements for example, sponsored answers, product recommendations, or branded interactive agents, into how people ask for and receive advice online.

For brands, that really raises the bar. Visibility will depend less on spend alone and more on how clearly, consistently and credibly a brand is understood by AI. Those with strong foundations like clear positioning, authoritative content and a genuine grasp of audience needs will be best placed to benefit when paid placements arrive. The smart move now is preparation: sharpening brand signals, creating content that answers real questions, and building an AI-ready presence so when this channel opens up, brands are ready to participate with confidence rather than scramble to catch up.”

Chily de la Viesca provides three ways that brands can achieve this preparation and better understand exactly what it is that they need to do to benefit from this new rollout:

1. Reverse engineer ChatGPT

Start from the source and actually ask ChatGPT how it currently recommends brands in your niche. You don’t need to limit this to just ChatGPT, but this can be any AI model.

You can then analyse the language used and the sources they cite to adapt your content and citations towards that model. In doing so, reverse engineering ChatGPT works as a practical way to troubleshoot what you’re not doing and what you should be doing instead.

2. Make your content more ‘conversational’

Users are no longer using keyword queries as much as they’re using natural, conversational queries. Therefore, your content needs to treat search more like dialogue than just a query list.

By anticipating more of a ‘journey’, from point A to B, rather than simple keyword search, and tailoring your content accordingly, brands can better navigate the needs and patterns of LLMs.

3. Engage in your community and in PR

LLM’s draw heavily from public content so community responses matter enormously. You should be participating in forums to elevate your brand as well as investing in PR as earned media shapes how AI sees your brand and its reputation.

Cecilia de la Viesca has been working in search for the last 15 years and is the Managing Director of Passion Digital, a marketing agency that offers AIO Optimisation.