ChatGPT to show in-chat ads in Switzerland from next week
Image credit: Mawaddah F / Shutterstock.com
By
Simone Jacobs
Clara Bousfield
See more IamExpat articles in your Google search results
Add IamExpat to Google News
As AI use spreads across Europe, ChatGPT users, including in Switzerland, will start seeing in-chat ads next week. This was confirmed by OpenAI and applies to anyone using the free and cheapest subscription plans.
ChatGPT ads roll out to Switzerland and 30 European nations
From next week, August 24 to 30, OpenAI will start showing advertisements to ChatGPT users in 31 European countries, including Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Austria, the artificial intelligence company recently announced. The exact start date has not been specified.
OpenAI has already been testing ads in the US for six months. Since then, it has gradually expanded to other markets, including the UK, Canada, Australia and Japan. Now comes the “largest expansion to date” with the addition of European markets.
Ads will be shown to users on ChatGPT's Free tier and Go plans. The Go plan is the cheapest paid plan, costing around 8 Swiss francs (8 euros) per month. Anyone who wants to avoid ads will need to upgrade to the roughly 21-franc Plus subscription or the Pro plan, starting at roughly 81 francs per month.
How ChatGPT ads work: Privacy & Swiss FADP compliance
Because data protection regulations, including the EU’s GDPR and the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), require prior consent for targeted online ads, OpenAI plans to personalise advertisements based on the current ChatGPT conversation, location, device type, time of day, and language, allowing the company to skirt the need for consent, reports Telecompaper.
However, an option for targeted ads will be added later, which users can enable or disable as they wish. Despite the introduction of ads on the platform, OpenAI maintains that this will not influence the answers given in a chat.
“Guided by OpenAI’s ads principles, we keep conversations private from advertisers and never sell customer data,” wrote OpenAI. “Ads in ChatGPT are always clearly labelled and separate from ChatGPT’s answers, and advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides.”
In an example seen on the OpenAI website, if a user asks “What should I consider when buying a coffee machine?”, an answer would be given, followed by a clearly marked ad box advertising a coffee machine.
Majority of ChatGPT users remain on free tier
According to Dutch news outlet Trouw, around 900 million people worldwide use ChatGPT weekly. Only 50 million of these users have paid plans, and 9 million are business customers. This means that most people use the free version of the AI model. With a projected loss of 14 billion euros for 2026, OpenAI is trying to mitigate financial losses by introducing ads.
In contrast, Anthropic, which operates Claude, currently has no plans to introduce chat-based ads. The appearance of advertisements in these contexts “would feel incongruous and in many cases, inappropriate,” the company writes on its website.
This articile originally featured on IamExpat the Netherlands.
Was this article helpful?
Donate to help us keep IamExpat free, reliable, and accessible to all internationals in Switzerland.
This page uses affiliate links.
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more
Clara Bousfield
Editor at IamExpat Media