ChatGPT Is About to Get a Lot More Like Google—And You're Not Going to Like It
Hidden code in a beta app reveals OpenAI's ad machine is already warming up
That "unbiased AI assistant" you've been trusting with your deepest questions? It's about to start selling you things.
A bombshell code leak from ChatGPT's Android beta has confirmed what many feared: OpenAI is building an advertising engine directly into its flagship product. And based on what's been uncovered, it's further along than anyone expected.
What Got Leaked
Engineer Tibor Blaho cracked open version 1.2025.329 of ChatGPT's Android app and found something users won't love: explicit references to "search ads," "ad carousels," and something cryptically called "bazaar content", code that didn't exist in previous versions.
Translation? OpenAI isn't just thinking about ads. They're actively building the plumbing.
The leaked architecture suggests ads will first infiltrate ChatGPT's search features, appearing as sponsored results when you ask about products or services. Think Google Search, but inside your AI conversation. The "bazaar" feature hints at something even more ambitious, a built-in shopping marketplace where you can browse and buy without ever leaving the chat.
Follow the Money
Why would OpenAI risk alienating its user base? Simple math.
The company expects $13 billion in revenue this year. Sounds impressive until you learn they're spending $22 billion, mostly on the GPUs and data centers needed to keep the AI running. HSBC analysts project OpenAI won't turn a profit until after 2030.
Subscriptions alone won't close that gap. Advertising might.
The Privacy Elephant in the Room
Here's where it gets uncomfortable: ChatGPT knows things about you that Google never could. Your fears. Your health questions. Your relationship problems. Your half-formed business ideas typed at 2 AM.
All of that conversational data could make ads terrifyingly precise—and terrifyingly profitable.
Some users are already crying foul. Reports emerged that disabling ad personalization might require sacrificing ChatGPT's memory feature—the very thing that makes the AI feel like it knows you. Users are calling it digital blackmail.
Already Testing in the Wild?
One tech CEO claims he was served a Peloton ad inside ChatGPT—despite paying for the premium Pro plan. OpenAI hasn't confirmed whether this was an intentional test or a bug, but the timing is suspicious.
What Happens Next
OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman once called ads a "last resort." Apparently, the resort has arrived.
No official launch date exists, but industry watchers are eyeing 2026 for a broader rollout. The community response has been predictably hostile, with many threatening to jump ship to alternatives like Claude, Gemini, or open-source models the moment ads appear.
The irony? The tool millions use to escape the ad-cluttered web may soon become just another part of it.
