ChatGPT ads are here, and they're tamer than everyone feared.

For months the rumor was that OpenAI would stuff ads right into ChatGPT's answers. Edward Sturm looked at the real thing, and it is calmer than the speculation: the ads are clearly labeled, sit at the bottom of a response, and do not change the answer itself.

Why that's the interesting part

If ads do not influence what the AI actually recommends, then getting recommended is still earned, not bought. The businesses ChatGPT names in its answers are there because the model trusts the signals around them, not because they paid to jump the line.

What it means for you

Two things. First, being visible inside AI answers is still about reputation and clear, trustworthy information about your business, which is what our AI-search work focuses on. Second, if you do want to pay to appear in AI surfaces, that is a separate, deliberate advertising decision, not a shortcut to being the recommended answer. Keep the two straight.

Paid placement and earned trust are two different games. We play both, on purpose. That's marketing made with love.