OpenAI said on Wednesday 21 October 2026 that ChatGPT ads are going to 26 more countries, which brings the total to 89. Only users on the Free and Go tiers see them; Plus, Pro and Enterprise subscribers stay ad-free. Among the new markets are Argentina, Peru, Nigeria, South Africa and Ukraine, along with Chile, Colombia, Serbia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Fourteen of the 26 are in Latin America, joining Mexico and Brazil, and the rest are spread across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
“Testing early with OpenAI enables us to pioneer helpful experiences and journeys”
Asmita Dubey, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, L'Oréal Group, in a statement carried by Storyboard18 · storyboard18.com ↗
The business behind it is growing quickly. More than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns, and OpenAI's ad run rate reached $1bn annualised in August, up from $100m in March. In the new countries, advertisers can buy through technology partners or through the self-service Ads Manager. L'Oréal is among the brands testing ads with OpenAI. In September the company also added AI tools for advertisers and began trialling business-sponsored agents with some US advertisers.
OpenAI says the ads are labelled, kept apart from ChatGPT's answers and do not influence them, and that conversations stay private from advertisers. It pitches the product as useful to people making decisions and effective for businesses, and sees ChatGPT as a place where shoppers weigh options. Storyboard18 adds a caveat: advertisers will judge the format on whether conversational discovery produces results they can measure.
Storyboard18's illustration for the ChatGPT ads expansion story
Image: Storyboard18
Ads began testing in the US in February, and later rollouts took in Mexico, Brazil, Europe, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Rival Anthropic mocked the idea and built its first Super Bowl ad around a pledge that Claude will stay ad-free. Advertising is now presented as a fourth pillar next to enterprise, subscriptions and the API.
OpenAI plans more ad formats, measurement tools and buying options. CNBC reports that its executives are eyeing a stock market listing in 2027, while Anthropic's leaders are meeting prospective investors.
Wire photo run with the Reuters report on the expansion
Reuters · Image: Investing.com (Reuters)