OpenAI is postponing its plans to introduce advertising in ChatGPT, shifting its focus toward improving the core product as competition in the AI chatbot market intensifies. The change in strategy was communicated internally this week, according to a report by The Information.
Focus Moves Away From Ads and New Features
CEO Sam Altman has temporarily halted development on several upcoming initiatives, including:
- Advertising within ChatGPT
- AI shopping agents
- A proactive assistant called “Pulse”
These projects are being placed on hold so the company can concentrate resources on enhancing ChatGPT’s performance. The decision follows what Altman reportedly described as a company-wide “code red.”
Competitive Pressure From Google and Anthropic
OpenAI’s strategic pivot comes shortly after Google introduced its new Gemini 3 Pro model. Early benchmarks indicate that Gemini 3 outperforms ChatGPT in several categories. Anthropic’s Claude is also gaining momentum, especially among enterprise users.
In response, Altman told employees that the company must accelerate improvements in key areas:
- Personalization
- Speed and responsiveness
- Model reliability
- Image generation quality
The company fears that introducing ads at this stage could risk driving users toward other free alternatives.
Balancing User Experience With Financial Realities
OpenAI remains unprofitable, and its ability to secure continued investment depends heavily on maintaining user engagement and platform growth. Losing market share to competitors could create additional financial pressure.
Although ad testing had already begun, including promotional content shown during shopping queries, OpenAI clarified that these were experimental “app suggestions,” not full advertisements. The company acknowledged that testing “fell short” of expectations and has since disabled the feature.
Altman has emphasized that advertising is not off the table permanently. Instead, it will be reconsidered once the user experience reaches the quality benchmark the company is aiming for.
New Model Expected Next Week
As part of its renewed focus on quality, OpenAI plans to release a new reasoning model next week. Altman said the model outperforms Google’s Gemini 3 in internal evaluations. Improving the technical foundation of ChatGPT is now the company’s overriding priority.
