ChatGPT to show ads in Germany from next week

OpenAI has announced that users of ChatGPT in Germany will start seeing in-chat advertisements from next week, beginning on August 24 and extending until August 30. This announcement comes after the AI company has been testing ads in the US for the past six months and has now expanded to include 31 European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Austria.

The ads will be displayed to users on ChatGPT's Free and Go plans, which are the more affordable options, with the cheaper Go plan costing 8 euros per month and the Go plan starting at 103 euros per month. Users who wish to avoid ads will need to upgrade to the Plus plan at 23 euros per month or the Pro plan at 103 euros per month.

OpenAI plans to personalize ads based on various factors such as the ongoing conversation, location, device type, time of day, and language, which will enable the company to avoid obtaining prior consent from users, thanks to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. However, OpenAI assures users that the introduction of ads will not affect the quality of responses provided by the AI model, as conversations will remain private from advertisers, and ads will always be clearly labeled and separate from the AI's answers.