OpenAI Targets $100B Ad Revenue Goal as ChatGPT Ads Mature After 19 Weeks

The AI startup made its first appearance at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week, where executives pitched what Dave Dugan, OpenAI's head of global ads solutions, called an entirely new advertising product and experience.

According to Ad Exchanger, the company has told investors it expects to reach $100 billion in ad revenue within the next four years — a milestone that took Meta 17 years to achieve. Dugan previously held executive roles at Meta before joining OpenAI.

Dugan emphasised that ChatGPT users arrive with a distinct mindset compared to social media platforms.

Why does someone open the ChatGPT app? They want to do research, they want to solve a problem, they want to get information on a particular topic. They're not coming to ChatGPT to scroll.

Chief revenue officer Denise Dresser said the company is now firmly committed to the advertising sector: "We are clearly in the advertising business now."

Though the ad business launched just 19 weeks ago — which Dugan likened to "a baby" whose age you still count in weeks — the platform has expanded quickly.

Since February, OpenAI has launched its ads pilot in the United States, released an ad manager in beta, and expanded into international markets including the United Kingdom and Australia.

The company has also shifted from selling ads exclusively on a cost-per-mile (CPM) basis to offering a cost-per-click option, which now accounts for the majority of ad spending on the platform.

Research from digital data platform Similarweb found that 83% of queries triggering ads inside ChatGPT would never have activated a Google Shopping ad.

The gap is structural rather than accidental. AI assistants reach shoppers during problem-solving conversations, research sessions, and multi-turn exchanges where commercial intent develops gradually, not through pre-labeled product queries that keyword-based search relies on.

PYMNTS Intelligence research showed that 47% of online shoppers used AI during their most recent purchase. ChatGPT's share as a product research tool climbed from 2% to 30% in two years.