OpenAI has updated its U.S. privacy disclosures, allowing the company to use cookies and similar identifiers for promoting its products on third-party websites as the AI giant explores broader ways of supporting and monetizing its services.
The company notified users of the change in an April 30 email, saying it would now use cookies to advertise OpenAI products and services outside its own platforms, WIRED reported. OpenAI said the update does not change how ChatGPT conversations are handled, and that chats are not shared with marketing partners.
“We’ll now use cookies to promote OpenAI products and services on other websites,” OpenAI said in the email. “This does not impact your conversations in ChatGPT. Your conversations with ChatGPT are private and are not shared with marketing partners.”
OpenAI’s cookie policy says cookies and similar technologies can be used for purposes including understanding service usage and supporting marketing efforts, while the company’s help page says users can opt out through Settings, Data Controls and Marketing Privacy.
Limited identifiers drive off-platform ads
OpenAI said the updated policy allows it to use basic tracking identifiers, rather than chat content, to understand whether people respond to promotions for its products outside OpenAI’s own platforms.
Those identifiers can include cookie IDs, device IDs or account details tied to a browser, device or user profile, helping advertising partners connect an OpenAI ad shown elsewhere with actions such as a later sign-up or product visit.
OpenAI spokesperson Taya Christianson said the company has not changed its policy on private user content.
“Nothing about our policy of not sharing people’s conversations or other private user content with advertisers has changed,” Christianson noted. “Like many companies, OpenAI works with select marketing partners to help people learn about our products on third-party websites and apps, and we updated our privacy policy to clarify how this works.”
She added that OpenAI may share “limited identifiers, such as cookie IDs or device IDs,” to make marketing more relevant and measure its effectiveness, and said users can opt out at any time in settings.
Ads become part of ChatGPT’s free tier
The privacy-policy change comes as OpenAI builds a larger advertising business around ChatGPT. The company has started showing ads to some U.S. users on Free and Go plans, while paid tiers including Plus, Pro, Enterprise and Edu remain ad-free, according to OpenAI’s help page on ChatGPT ads.
OpenAI says users can control ad personalization, dismiss ads, give feedback, see why an ad was shown and clear ad-related data. If ad personalization is turned off, users may still see ads based on the context of the current chat thread, but OpenAI says it will not use other chats, ad history or interests for personalization.
For free users, that means ChatGPT may remain private in content, but more connected to the advertising systems used to promote OpenAI products elsewhere online.
