OpenAI expands ads in ChatGPT to 31 European countries
From 26 August 2026, OpenAI is expanding ad testing in ChatGPT to 31 European countries (Germany, France, Spain, Italy and others). Only users of the Free version and the Go plan at 200 Kč/month will see ads.
OpenAI announced that it is expanding ad testing in ChatGPT to 31 European countries. The expansion is scheduled for 26 August 2026. The named countries include Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria; the company has not published the complete list of all 31 countries and did not explicitly name the Czech Republic, but Lupa.cz nevertheless expects paid links to appear there too, partly because the Advertising Terms are already available in Czech.
According to OpenAI, ads are shown only to users of the free ChatGPT Free version and the cheapest ChatGPT Go plan at 200 Kč per month, while users of the paid Plus, Pro and Enterprise plans are not supposed to see them. These are separate, clearly labelled messages that, according to the company, do not influence the responses ChatGPT provides to users; the company also says it has introduced privacy protections and user control over the advertising content shown. European advertisers are due to gain access to the self-service Ad Manager (Ads Manager) system later in the summer; until then, ads can be placed through the sales team at OpenAI or its partners.
OpenAI launched ad testing in ChatGPT six months ago in the USA and also introduced it in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea in August this year.
Why it matters
For users of the free version and the cheapest Go plan in Europe, this means the end of ad-free chatting in ChatGPT, while the paid Plus, Pro and Enterprise plans remain ad-free. For companies and marketers in the listed countries, a new advertising channel is opening up directly in the AI chatbot, although a self-service tool for buying ads is not yet available.
What was added since the original report
Verified updates
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Expansion of testing to 31 European countries planned for 2026-08-26; Ads are shown only to users of the Free version and the Go plan (200 Kč/month); Plus, Pro and Enterprise users are protected from ads; 9 named countries included: Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria; Ad Manager (Ads Manager) for Europe will be available later in the summer
- Expansion of testing to 31 European countries planned for 2026-08-26
- Ads are shown only to users of the Free version and the Go plan (200 Kč/month)
- Plus, Pro and Enterprise users are protected from ads
- 9 named countries included: Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria
- Ad Manager (Ads Manager) for Europe will be available later in the summer
Two audiences, two different impacts
What this means
For individuals
Users of the free version and the Go plan of ChatGPT in Europe will start seeing paid ads directly in conversations from the end of August 2026; according to OpenAI, these are labelled messages that do not influence the content of responses.
For a business
A new paid advertising channel is emerging in ChatGPT in the listed European countries, targeting users of the Free version and the Go plan; however, self-service ad buying (Ads Manager) is not yet available there, and advertisers must work through the sales team at OpenAI or its partners.
Sales and marketingCheck the original
Event sources
independently confirmed · 2 publishers, 1 independent. We count feeds from the same owner only once.