ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Advertising has come to ChatGPT in Pakistan, where businesses can now pay to appear beneath the chatbot’s answers. If you use the free version or the low-cost Go plan, here is what that means and how far you can limit it.
OpenAI added Pakistan to its advertising markets on October 21, in a batch of 26 countries that took the total to 89. The company says it is rolling ads out gradually to eligible users, so you may not have seen one yet. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu accounts will not carry ads, and neither will accounts identified as belonging to under-18s.
What advertisers can and cannot see
Ads appear in a labelled box below a response. OpenAI says they do not influence what ChatGPT tells you, and that advertisers cannot see your chats, chat history, memories or personal details. They get only combined figures, such as total views and clicks. If you message an advertiser through an ad, it will see the messages you send it.
The ad you get depends largely on what you are talking about. Ask about phones and you may see a phone seller. With personalisation switched on, ChatGPT can also draw on other chats, your ad history and, if you use the Memory feature, things it has remembered about you.
OpenAI says ads are not eligible to appear near sensitive topics, including personal health, mental health and politics, and that political advertising is not currently allowed.
How to limit them
Turn off personalisation: go to Settings, then Ad Controls, and switch off ad personalisation. ChatGPT will stop using your other chats, ad history and topics to choose ads. You will still see ads based on the current conversation. The same menu lets you clear the data used for ads, dismiss an ad or see why you were shown it. Update the app if the option is missing.
Use a Temporary Chat: OpenAI says these will not show ads. They also do not create or update memories.
Pay for a plan or accept limits: Plus and Pro are ad-free. OpenAI also describes a free no-ads option with fewer messages a day and no tools such as images, but says availability varies by region, so it may not appear for everyone in Pakistan.
Why it is happening
Ads began in the United States in February, and OpenAI says more than 100,000 advertisers have since run campaigns. The company said in August that the business had reached a $1 billion annual revenue rate. It says advertising helps pay for free and low-cost access for ChatGPT’s more than 1.2 billion weekly users.
