OpenAI brings advertising to ChatGPT on the big stage: a $100 billion bet by 2030 and industry skepticism
OpenAI made a landmark entrance at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, presenting its new advertising platform in ChatGPT to the world's largest brands. This move is not just a demonstration of capabilities, but part of an aggressive monetization strategy ahead of its rumored initial public offering (IPO), valued at over $1 trillion. However, the advertising community's reaction has been far from unanimous.
David Dagan, head of OpenAI's advertising division and a former high-ranking executive at Meta, stated that the company intends to turn advertising into a major revenue source. According to his estimates, about 20% of queries to ChatGPT carry clear commercial intent, with particularly strong performance in topics such as travel, commerce, health, beauty, and financial services. OpenAI has promised investors that it will drive advertising revenue to $100 billion by 2030—roughly half of Meta's current annual advertising income.
Skepticism from advertising giants and a lack of tools
Leaders of the largest advertising agencies in Cannes received this forecast with considerable skepticism. Many believe that OpenAI still lacks the precise targeting and analytics tools needed to truly compete with Google's search advertising. Without these tools, industry experts argue, the promises will remain mere ambitious statements.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time monetization of ChatGPT has raised questions. Earlier this spring, the launch of advertising sparked a wave of criticism from users. Particularly vocal were paid subscribers, who rightly believed that paying for the service would exempt them from ads. Moreover, OpenAI researcher Zoe Hitzig resigned amid the rollout of advertising tests, citing principled objections. In her assessment, OpenAI has collected "the most detailed archive of private human thoughts," and monetizing this data set would allow the platform to influence audiences subtly, in ways users cannot detect or prevent.
Competitive landscape and financial pressure
Competitors are not standing still. Anthropic, which mocked advertising in chatbots during its Super Bowl ad earlier this year, positioned Claude as a product without intrusive promotions. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman countered, calling Claude "an expensive toy for the rich."
Over the past year, OpenAI has spent $34 billion and remains unprofitable. The Cannes presentation and the effort to attract advertisers are not just about generating revenue—they are a critical step in convincing investors of the company's viability. Whether OpenAI can create the analytics tools that the industry says are missing will determine if it can justify its trillion-dollar valuation.
Expert opinion: OpenAI's advertising expansion is an inevitable stage in the evolution of any mass-market product, but the stakes are extremely high. The market expects not just banner integration, but a fundamentally new format that does not erode user trust. If OpenAI cannot offer advertisers measurable results and transparent analytics, this multi-billion-dollar strategy risks remaining merely an expensive experiment. For the crypto industry, this is a signal: AI giants are seeking new monetization models, and it is quite possible that we will soon see advertising algorithms intersecting with decentralized finance.