OpenAI’s ad business reaches $1 billion annualized revenue run rate

OpenAI said ChatGPT Ads has reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, marking a rapid expansion of the business beyond its initial U.S. testing market.

Starting Monday, advertisers in India, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa can purchase ChatGPT ads directly through OpenAI’s Ads Manager. The company has already made the tool available in the United States and said it has helped attract small and medium-sized businesses.

Small and medium-sized businesses now represent a “material share” of OpenAI’s advertising business, the company said. Advertisers outside the United States also account for a growing share of revenue, although OpenAI did not provide further figures.

OpenAI displays ads to users on ChatGPT’s free tier and its lower-priced Go plan. In April, the company said its U.S. advertising pilot had reached a $100 million annualized revenue run rate within six weeks of launching.

The expansion puts OpenAI into direct competition with Alphabet’s Google and Meta, which dominate digital advertising and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in annual ad revenue. OpenAI confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO earlier this year, and the company has reportedly been expected to go public in 2027 or sooner.

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