Ad policies

OpenAI’s policy is to allow ads to be placed near chats that are safe, appropriate, and consistent with user trust and brand safety. Our safeguards are designed to prevent ad placements in sensitive user contexts and brand unsafe contexts, including but not limited to the contexts described below.

Sensitive user contexts are conversations involving personal, high-stakes, or emotionally vulnerable situations where ads could undermine user trust or create a poor experience.

Brand unsafe contexts are conversations where ad adjacency would be unsuitable for advertisers, including contexts that violate OpenAI’s Usage Policies⁠, as well as contexts that map to widely recognized brand safety frameworks that advertisers commonly treat as unsuitable for ad placement.

Our ad content policies define the categories of advertising currently supported on ChatGPT. During the initial test period, ads are primarily limited to consumer verticals such as lifestyle and household goods, local services, travel and experiences, and digital products or education. These categories may expand over time. We may approve ads from approved advertisers within the financial services, healthcare & medicine, and legal services categories. These categories are being rolled out gradually with approvals being reviewed manually on a case-by-case basis.

All other categories are disallowed at launch, including ads that violate OpenAI’s usage policies and those related to sensitive or regulated areas such as dating or sexual content, health claims, alcohol and drugs, healthcare, financial or legal services, gambling, and political content. This list may evolve as the program develops.

These standards apply to all ad assets, including copy, images or video, and landing pages. Ads must be consistent end-to-end: approved creatives may not link to destinations that introduce disallowed content (for example, a food delivery ad linking to alcohol delivery).

The following standards apply to all ads regardless of category. An ad that violates these standards is prohibited even if the product category is otherwise allowed.

Ads must be truthful and not misleading, including unfounded claims about capabilities, pricing, outcomes, affiliations, or comparisons with other products or companies. Ads that exaggerate results, use false endorsements, or otherwise deceive users are prohibited regardless of category.

Ads must use professional and non-offensive language and imagery. Ads containing obscene, vulgar, or shocking language—including in product names, event titles, or branding—may be rejected even if the underlying category is otherwise allowed.

Ads must not include derogatory, defamatory, or exclusionary content, including slurs or language that targets individuals or groups based on protected characteristics.

Ads must be clearly distinguishable from the ChatGPT product experience. We may remove or require modification of ads that imitate the appearance, functionality, or voice of ChatGPT or other OpenAI interfaces in a way that could reasonably cause users to believe the ad is part of the product.

OpenAI reserves the right to refuse to display ad content and website links for any reason.  

Ads must comply with OpenAI’s Usage Policies⁠. In addition, ChatGPT applies stricter standards to advertising in certain regulated and sensitive categories to protect user trust and brand safety.

Ads for adult content or services are currently disallowed. This includes dating apps, sexual services or products, adult companion apps or websites, adult-themed events, full nudity, sexual health products, and assets featuring sexualized poses or explicit/racy imagery.

Ads for lingerie, underwear, or swimwear may be allowed when presented in a standard fashion or retail context and not framed to provoke sexual arousal.

Ads that promote or facilitate the sale, use, or consumption of alcohol or tobacco are currently disallowed, including marketing for alcoholic beverages (products over 0.5% ABV), cigarettes, vaping, or nicotine products, as well as alcohol or tobacco-focused activities. Incidental references are acceptable only when alcohol is not the focus and the ad otherwise fits within “Safe” eligibility.

Ads promoting non-genuine products that copy or substantially imitate another brand’s trademark, logo, name, or distinctive features in order to appear genuine. This includes the promotion, sale, solicitation, or facilitation of knockoffs, replicas, imitations, or pirated products without authorization.

Ads for financial products and services are restricted. At this time, we may allow ads from approved financial advertisers.

Additionally, financial tools that do not promote financial products or transactions may be permitted. Examples include budgeting apps, general financial software, and educational courses or materials about finance that do not include offers for financial services.

Ads for cryptocurrency, credit repair, debt settlement, and debt assistance services are disallowed. 

Ads promoting products or services that involve wagering money on games of chance, skill, or uncertain outcomes are currently disallowed. This includes casino or betting promotions, online sports betting, lotteries, and poker or gaming platforms that offer cash prizes.

Ads for casinos may be permitted only when promoting lodging, travel, or entertainment experiences where gambling is not the focus (e.g., a hotel stay at a casino resort). Digital games that do not involve real-money wagering or cash prizes may also be allowed.

Ads must not include explicit sexual content or graphic violence. Sexually explicit advertising—including pornography, sexual services, full nudity, explicit sexual acts, or imagery intended to provoke sexual arousal—is not permitted. This also includes tools that generate or manipulate sexual imagery (e.g., “nudify” or AI sexualization tools).

Ads must also not depict graphic or realistic violence, including gore, severe injury, or death against humans or animals, particularly when presented for shock or sensationalism. Age-restricted entertainment (e.g., R-rated films, M-rated games) may be advertised if the ad creative and landing page are non-explicit and non-graphic. Stylized or cartoon violence without gore may also be allowed.

Ads for regulated medical products, services, or claims involving the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of physical or mental health conditions are currently disallowed. This includes prescription drugs, clinical care providers, hospitals, prescription services, over-the-counter medications, and other medical products or services offered through healthcare providers or insurance networks.

General health and wellness products that do not make medical claims may be permitted, such as fitness equipment, wearable devices, menstrual products, or incidental references to health or self-care. Health-related products that make unregulated wellness claims may be evaluated under the Wellness Claims policy. 

Ads for legal advice, representation, or legal services offered to individuals or businesses are not permitted. This includes services related to immigration, personal injury, legal claims, or document preparation.

Ads for general legal education or media may be allowed where no legal services are offered. Examples include legal-themed podcasts or educational materials about law (e.g., LSAT preparation courses). 

Ads that advocate for or against political actors, elections, public policy, or contested social issues are currently disallowed.

This includes advertising related to elections or electoral participation (e.g., support for or opposition to a candidate, political party, referendum, or encouragement or discouragement of voting); advocacy connected to public officials or government action (e.g., immigration enforcement, taxes, climate policy, or other legislative or regulatory matters); and advertising that frames contested social issues as matters of public controversy or political debate.

Ads for products or services that promote the use of substances intended to intoxicate or alter consciousness, including cannabis or psychedelics, are currently disallowed. This includes marijuana or THC products (e.g., THC gummies), psychedelic substances such as magic mushrooms, and related paraphernalia.

Non-intoxicating hemp-derived products, such as CBD topicals with no THC (e.g., creams or oils) and hemp clothing, may be permitted where they do not promote intoxicating use. Note that illicit drugs are never eligible for advertising.

We prohibit ads that deceive, defraud, or exploit users to obtain money, personal information, or other valuable assets. This includes ads that impersonate individuals, brands, official entities, or trusted services; promote fraudulent or implausible offers such as guaranteed financial returns; use misleading claims to induce users into scams; or direct users to high-risk or deceptive destinations, including phishing sites, typosquat domains, or unverified messaging channels. 

Ads must not exploit or sensationalize socially contested issues, major public tragedies, or other high-impact events where advertising could undermine user trust or create brand-safety risk. Advertising that meaningfully references sensitive social issues—such as abortion, immigration, race, religion, or gender identity—or promotes false or misleading narratives is not permitted.

Ads must not promote wellness or health-adjacent products that make unsubstantiated health claims outside established medical or regulatory frameworks. This includes advertising for diet pills, detox programs, supplements marketed with unsupported health claims outside major retail channels, and services such as health coaching.

General wellness and lifestyle advertising may be permitted where no medical claims are made, such as fitness equipment or workout programs, general nutrition products, and supplements widely sold through major retailers. 

During the early phases of advertising, we are focused on a limited set of consumer categories, including household and consumer goods, local services, travel and entertainment, and digital products and education.

We expect to expand eligible categories over time as our safeguards, review systems, and compliance infrastructure mature.

We’re building advertising in ChatGPT with a clear purpose: help make powerful AI accessible to more people while giving businesses of all sizes—from SMBs and startups to global brands—new ways to grow.

From the start, we’ve taken a transparent and principled approach⁠ to our advertising business, with clear policies and processes that determine who can run ads, what kinds of ads are allowed, and where they can appear.

This section explains what standards we apply, how we implement these standards, and what happens when ads don’t meet our safety bar.

Our review process evaluates the full ad experience at three levels:

• Advertisers: When advertisers sign up on our ads manager platform, we verify their business and assess whether they fit within our allowed policy categories, and can safely participate in our ads ecosystem. We may also evaluate account quality and risk signals associated with scams, fraud, abuse, or deceptive behavior. 
• Ad creative and landing pages: When an ad is uploaded, we review the title, copy, media, and landing page for compliance with our policies. Ads are rejected if any of these assets promote or meaningfully reference disallowed policy categories (e.g., weapons, alcohol, deceptive practices), contain landing pages that do not match the products or services depicted in the ad creative, or otherwise violate our baseline policy standards.
• Placement: As a final step, we ensure approved ads only appear in relevant conversations that comply with our placement policy⁠.

Most reviews are conducted through scaled AI systems with human oversight and calibration. Ads or landing pages that cannot be reviewed or evaluated by our systems are not eligible to run.

• Scaled review: We use machine learning systems, including LLMs and classifiers, to review creatives, landing pages, and advertiser signals for policy compliance before ads are approved for distribution.
• Human oversight: We also use human review for borderline cases, complex policy areas, and high-severity violations. Reviewer feedback helps calibrate our systems over time, and we continuously refine our processes to improve accuracy and consistency.
• Additional safeguards: Restricted categories (e.g. financial services) may require additional safeguards, including enhanced advertiser verification or manual review.

When our review finds that an ad or advertiser doesn’t meet our policies or integrity standards, we take steps to protect users and our services. Depending on severity, enforcement actions may include rejecting or removing an ad, limiting delivery, requiring edits or other remediation, or restricting an advertiser’s access to ads products. Severe, repeated, or deceptive violations may result in stronger measures, including suspension or termination of advertiser accounts. 

After approval, we continue monitoring ads and advertiser activity using a combination of user feedback, automated metrics, and ongoing quality evaluations, and may take further action if we detect indicators of unsafe, misleading, or otherwise non-compliant behavior.

No review system is perfect and the impact of policy-violations can be serious.  For this reason, we plan for the possibility that a policy-violating ad may be shown. We proactively review user signals, users can report ads in-product they believe are unsafe, misleading, or otherwise problematic, and advertisers and partners can raise concerns through designated support or account channels. 

We investigate and respond based on severity.  When an issue is confirmed, we act quickly to protect users—up to and including pausing the ad during investigation for higher-severity cases. After an incident, we review what happened and use what we learn to strengthen our standards, detection, and enforcement over time.

We’re building the ChatGPT ads platform with safety and trust at the core, and we’ll keep strengthening our review, monitoring, and enforcement as the platform grows. As we expand access and capabilities, we’ll do so deliberately, using real-world performance and feedback to refine our approach.

The goal is straightforward: make it possible for businesses of all sizes to use ChatGPT ads while keeping the experience useful, trustworthy, and aligned with how people rely on ChatGPT every day.