Recently, with the release of the ChatGPT Images 2.5 image generation model and the ChatGPT Live voice function, OpenAI has been actively making moves in its commercialization efforts. According to insiders, the company has quietly updated its internal advertising policies, officially banning competitors from placing advertisements for specific categories of generative AI products within the ChatGPT platform, especially commercial promotions for image generation and voice generation tools.
Although this new rule was not publicly disclosed previously and has not yet been updated on the official advertising policy page, OpenAI has formally informed some business partners that it will no longer accept applications for advertising campaigns featuring purely image generation and voice generation products. Doug Wyatt, Senior Director of Media at Adobe Americas, confirmed this. As a partner that previously participated in OpenAI's advertising pilot program, Adobe had used this opportunity to promote its Acrobat Studio and its own Firefly AI image generator within the ChatGPT platform, but the implementation of the new regulation directly cut off this marketing channel.
Notably, this policy adjustment by OpenAI shows clear selectivity. At present, the platform still allows competitors to place advertisements for video generation tools, without a blanket restriction across all AI sectors. At the same time, OpenAI has also adjusted the discovery mechanism of ChatGPT. For user queries related to image editors and image generators, ChatGPT has stopped returning external reference links. This means that third-party developers have not only lost the paid advertising exposure channel, but also the organic search traffic, resulting in a comprehensive compression of dual customer acquisition channels.
Looking back at its commercialization process, ChatGPT launched an advertising test in the United States in February 2026, initially targeting free users and low-cost subscription users. Within less than 200 days of its launch, its advertising business demonstrated astonishing revenue-generating capabilities, with an annualized revenue rate exceeding $1 billion. With this strong momentum, the company had previously set a 2026 full-year advertising revenue target of $2.5 billion for investors. As the platform's influence continues to expand, finding a balance between an open ecosystem and protecting its core interests has become a new challenge for OpenAI.
