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ChatGPT appears to show ads while it generates images, a month after OpenAI's announcement

ChatGPT appears to show ads while it generates images, a month after OpenAI's announcement
Image: Search Engine Roundtable

The ad runs under the headline "Here's an ad while we create your image" and disappears once the image is ready, Search Engine Roundtable reports.

8:02 pm ET

Source: Search Engine Roundtable

OpenAI's visual ad format in ChatGPT seems to be live, Search Engine Roundtable reported on November 10, 2026. When a user asks ChatGPT to make an image, an ad shows while the image is generated under the headline "Here's an ad while we create your image," then disappears once the image is created. The outlet said it was able to replicate the ad itself.

OpenAI announced about a month earlier that it would release a "new visual ad format in ChatGPT" to show ads during image creation, according to the report.

Juozas Kaziukėnas flagged the ads on X, writing that he started seeing them that day. He said the ad he saw involved dogs or pet food, while his conversation had nothing to do with that topic. Search Engine Roundtable noted Kaziukėnas also spotted a new ChatGPT business hub the previous Friday.

Read the full article at Search Engine Roundtable

Our take

Image generation waits give advertisers a new visual slot inside ChatGPT, though the report gives no pricing, targeting rules, buying access or markets.

  • Ask your OpenAI or agency contact how image-wait placements are bought and measured.
  • Watch whether ads match the conversation; the one example reported did not.

Was our take useful?

Key takeaways

  1. ChatGPT shows an ad while generating images, per Search Engine Roundtable
  2. The ad reads "Here's an ad while we create your image" and vanishes when done
  3. OpenAI announced the visual ad format about a month earlier