OpenAI CFO Defends ChatGPT Ads at Davos as User Base Hits 800M

As ChatGPT grows beyond 800 million weekly users and aims for a $20 billion revenue run rate, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar stated at the World Economic Forum that advertisements are essential to funding AGI for everyone.

Sarah Friar, the chief financial officer (CFO) of OpenAI, defended the company's choice on Wednesday to incorporate commercials into its popular chatbot ChatGPT. At a panel discussion titled "Building AI for the Long Term" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Friar stated that the company needs to "create a strong business model" to achieve its goal of making AI available to a wider audience.

According to her, their goal is to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of all people, not just those who can afford it. When questioned about the timing of the advertisements, she said, "Early is a weird word."

She added that you need to be at scale when using ad models. That would be early since sub-scale ad models are ineffective. With 800 million weekly active users, you've surpassed many of the companies that began using that strategy.

OpenAI announced last week that it would test targeted ads for specific users of the free version of ChatGPT in the US. Up until now, the chatbot has been either free or required a monthly subscription fee.

With OpenAI's plan to start running ads, the industry – which confronts high costs for processing power, staff, and upcoming infrastructure buildouts – is at a tipping point. According to Bloomberg, the company's executives are under pressure to defend both its aggressive strategy and its valuation, which is among the highest of any private company in the world.

The company revealed earlier this week that its 2025 annualized revenue, a metric used by software businesses to demonstrate growth, hit $20 billion.