Sam Altman Takes Aim at Google’s Ad Profits: ChatGPT’s Revolutionary Approach to Ads and Commerce!

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said ChatGPT will likely try ads “at some point.” However, he still has “no idea” what ads will look like. Altman also doesn’t see ads as OpenAI’s “biggest revenue opportunity.”

In an interview on Conversations with Tyler, Altman also took another direct shot at Google’s ad model:

• “Ads on a Google search are dependent on Google doing badly. If it was giving you the best answer, there’d be no reason ever to buy an ad above it.
• “So you’re like – that thing is not quite aligned with me. ChatGPT might give you the best answer. It might not give you the best answer. You’re paying it. Hopefully, all are paying it. At least it’s trying to give you the best answer.”

His point. Google makes money when results fall short. ChatGPT should only make money when it earns users’ trust, according to Altman.

• “If ChatGPT accepted payment to favor a worse hotel over a better one, it would damage your trust in ChatGPT.”

Why you should care. If Altman’s ChatGPT ad model vision becomes reality, the path from question to recommendation happens seamlessly. The entire process up to the buying takes place in a single conversation. Brands and businesses will need to figure out how to stay visible in these new search journeys.

How Altman would do ChatGPT Ads. Show the best recommendation first. Then, if a user books or buys with one click, OpenAI will take a small commission that doesn’t affect results.

• “ChatGPT shows you its guess – the best hotel, whatever that is. If you then book it with one click, it takes the same cut. This is the same allowance it would take from any other hotel. If nothing influenced it … I think that’s probably OK.
• “We’ll do that for travel at some point.”

What he won’t do. ChatGPT won’t have pay-to-play answers. If money corrupts rankings, trust collapses, according to Altman.

• “There’s an ad that I think would be really bad like the one we talked about. There are kinds of ads that I think would be very good or pretty good to do. I expect it’s something we’ll try at some point. I do not think it is our biggest revenue opportunity.”

What an OpenAI ad looks like. Not even Altman knows yet. He’s not even working on it:

• “I’m really good about not doing the things I don’t want to do.
• “You know, we have the world expert thinking about our product strategy. I used to do that. I used to spend a lot of time thinking about product and now she’s much better at it than me. I have other things to think about. I’m sure she’ll figure it out.