OpenAI is making two consequential moves in ChatGPT: expanding a lower-cost paid tier broadly and opening the door to advertising inside the product.

The company said ChatGPT Go is now available everywhere ChatGPT is available, priced at $8 per month in the U.S. (with localized pricing in some markets). Go sits between the Free plan and the $20/month Plus plan, aiming to convert users who want more access and features without stepping up to the full Plus tier.

At the same time, OpenAI said it plans to begin testing ads in the U.S. in the coming weeks for logged-in adults on the Free and Go tiers, while keeping Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise ad-free. OpenAI said ads will appear at the bottom of answers when relevant, will be clearly labeled and separated from the organic response, and users will be able to learn why an ad was shown or dismiss it.

OpenAI also described guardrails for the initial test: ads will not run for users under 18, and will not be eligible near sensitive topics such as health, mental health, or politics. The company said ads will not influence ChatGPT’s answers and that it does not sell user data to advertisers.

Why this matters

This announcement lands amid an aggressive adoption race across AI assistants, with providers expanding free and lower-cost tiers to pull in mainstream users and normalize habit. In that context, Go broadens OpenAI’s paid “middle,” while ads create another lever to help fund free and affordable access and improve the economics of broad usage at scale.

It also reinforces a distribution shift subscription operators should track. As assistants become a starting point for discovery, comparison, and getting tasks done, they can increasingly sit between customers and brands. OpenAI has signaled that ads in a conversational interface may evolve beyond static placements, including experiences where users can ask questions to make a purchase decision, a direction that could accelerate agent-led shopping behaviors over time.

Plan differences

Snapshot as of January 16, 2026 (based on OpenAI’s public plan descriptions)

Free (Individual) — $0

• • • Limited access and lower usage limits than paid tiers
    • Included in the planned U.S. ad test for logged-in adults

Go (Individual) — $8/month (U.S.)

• • • Mid-tier plan positioned as a step up from Free, with materially higher usage and longer memory/context
    • Does not include certain legacy model options called out on higher tiers
    • May include ads; included in the planned U.S. ad test for logged-in adults

Plus (Individual) — $20/month

• • • Higher limits and broader capability access than Go, including legacy model selection
    • Ad-free

Pro (Individual) — $200/month

• • • Maximum limits for power users
    • Ad-free

Business (Workspace) — starting at $25/user/month billed annually

• • • Team workspace with admin controls and business-oriented settings
    • Ad-free

Enterprise (Workspace) — contact sales

• • • Expanded enterprise controls and commercial terms
    • Ad-free

INSIDER TAKE

This is not just a new price point. It’s OpenAI formalizing a familiar subscription playbook inside an AI assistant: widen the ladder to convert more users into a paid middle tier, and add advertising to support scale at the bottom while keeping premium tiers clean.

The larger signal is distribution. As assistants become a daily starting point for shopping, news, and getting things done, the customer’s “front door” to your subscription may increasingly be an interface you do not own. Sponsored placements inside answers move the assistant closer to a storefront, where competitors can surface at the moment of intent and the assistant increasingly functions as an intermediary that shapes discovery and choice.