Many of OpenAI’s partners in the pilot program for introducing advertisements on ChatGPT are expressing frustration over the slow and unpredictable pace of the rollout. This delay threatens the loss of valuable investment opportunities and analytical data that major advertising agencies had hoped to capture at the start of 2026.
According to sources familiar with the matter speaking to CNBC, major global firms such as Omnicom, WPP, and Dentsu are facing difficulties in executing their advertising plans. OpenAI has reportedly mandated unusually high financial commitments for participation in the test, ranging between $200,000 and $250,000—double the amount typically allocated for initial pilot trials. As the first quarter nears its end, advertisers fear OpenAI will be unable to fully spend these budgets on expected results, depriving them of the chance to reallocate these funds to other platforms during Q1 or gain precise insights into user behavior.
For its part, OpenAI explained that this slowdown is "deliberate," aimed at refining the user experience and ensuring that advertisements do not impact the quality of conversations before a full-scale expansion. This caution comes as analysts eye 2026 as the "year of transformation" to Large Language Model (LLM) advertising, amid expectations that OpenAI’s advertising revenue will reach approximately $1 billion this year, surging to $30 billion by 2030.
On the other hand, OpenAI's competitor, Anthropic, has capitalized on the situation by announcing its commitment to keeping its "Claude" platform ad-free. Meanwhile, Google continues to strengthen its advertising presence through AI-powered search results, leveraging its ready infrastructure and massive customer base, which may grant it a competitive advantage if OpenAI continues to struggle with the rhythm of its commercial rollout.