“OpenAI cannot pay for the compute it needs from subscriptions alone. Ads are the only model with the headroom to cover the bill.”
The math has been obvious for two years and OpenAI has been lying about it for two years. ChatGPT’s free tier costs more to operate than the subscriber tier brings in, and the enterprise contracts are not closing the gap. Ads are the inevitable next step and the only question is what shape they take. Sponsored answers, native placement, affiliate links built into responses. All of it. None of it will be optional.