OpenAI announces advertising in ChatGPT at Cannes Lions: a risky move ahead of a trillion-dollar IPO
OpenAI's entry into the advertising market has become one of the most discussed topics at the Cannes Lions festival. The company officially introduced the integration of advertisements into the ChatGPT interface, aiming to turn its chatbot into a full-fledged advertising platform. However, the reaction from marketers and advertising agencies has been, to say the least, restrained.
A $100 Billion Strategy
David Dugan, head of OpenAI's advertising division, who previously held a senior position at Meta, stated that the company intends to make advertising a major source of revenue. According to his estimates, about 20% of queries to ChatGPT already carry clear commercial interest, with the best performance seen in topics related to travel, commerce, health, beauty, and financial services.
OpenAI has promised investors it will drive advertising revenue to $100 billion by 2030. For comparison, that is roughly half of Meta's current annual advertising revenue. However, experts at the Cannes festival were clearly skeptical of such a forecast. Leaders of major agencies doubt that OpenAI has sufficient targeting and analytics tools to truly compete with Google's search advertising.
A Wave of Discontent: From Users to Employees
The launch of advertising in ChatGPT this spring has already sparked sharp criticism. Users criticized the innovation immediately after the announcement, and paid subscribers were particularly outraged — they expected that paying for the service would completely free them from ads.
The situation escalated to the point where OpenAI researcher Zoe Hitzig resigned amid the launch of advertising tests, citing principled objections. In her assessment, the company has collected "the most detailed archive of private human thoughts," and monetizing such a vast array of data would allow the platform to influence the audience subtly — in a way that users would not be able to recognize or prevent.
Competitive Battle and Financial Background
Anthropic, OpenAI's main competitor, quickly turned the situation to its advantage. In a Super Bowl ad, the company mocked clumsy advertising in chatbots and contrasted it with 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 spent $34 billion and remains unprofitable. In its IPO filing, the company expects a valuation above $1 trillion. Whether the Cannes presentation can attract advertisers and convince investors will largely depend on whether OpenAI can create the analytics tools that the industry believes it currently lacks.
Analyst's opinion: OpenAI's aggressive entry into the advertising market is not just an attempt to diversify revenue, but a critically important step to justify a trillion-dollar valuation ahead of its IPO. However, without creating reliable targeting and performance measurement tools, which Google has been refining for decades, this plan risks remaining just a beautiful presentation for investors.