If you use the free version of ChatGPT and live in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, or one of 20 other European countries, today is the day you may start seeing ads in your answers. OpenAI confirmed the rollout began Monday, August 24, 2026, covering all 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland — 31 markets at once, bringing the global total to 40.
Who actually sees ads. People on the Free and Go plans. If you pay for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Edu, you won't see ads — that's part of what your subscription covers. Users under 18 are excluded regardless of plan.
What's different in Europe. In the US, UK, and other countries where ads launched earlier this year, OpenAI could personalize ads based on your account and settings. In the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, that's not allowed to start — European privacy law (GDPR) requires clear consent before a company can personalize ads around you, and OpenAI hasn't asked for that yet. So for now, the ads you see are based only on what you're currently asking ChatGPT about, your rough location, and your language — not your chat history or saved memories. OpenAI says it may introduce personalization later, and if it does, you should get a separate notice asking for your consent — you're not supposed to be opted in automatically.
What the ads look like. OpenAI says ads are visually separated from ChatGPT's actual answer and clearly labeled as sponsored, and that they don't change what the AI tells you — the answer itself is generated the same way either way. The company also says advertisers never get access to your chat history, and that it doesn't sell your data to them.
How to actually turn ads off. On the Free plan, go to Settings → Ads controls, where you can switch to an ad-free mode. The catch: your daily message limit drops, and you lose access to some tools, including image generation and deep research. If that trade-off isn't worth it to you, upgrading removes ads outright — Plus runs around €23 a month in Europe, and Pro around €229 a month. Our guide to is ChatGPT Plus worth it walks through what you get for the price.
None of this means your account has been compromised or that something is wrong with your ChatGPT — it's a disclosed test of a business model change, the same way free email and social apps have long used ads to stay free. If an "ad" ever shows up unlabeled, or pushes you toward entering payment details or an offer that feels too good to be true, treat it with the same caution you would any ad online — don't confuse it with ChatGPT's own advice. Our guide to ChatGPT's privacy settings covers what else you can control about what OpenAI sees and uses.
Sources
- ChatGPT to start showing ads across Europe next week — Euronews
- ChatGPT ads hit Europe on Monday, but not the personalized kind — Notebookcheck
- OpenAI to expand ChatGPT ads to 31 more European countries — Yahoo Finance / Reuters