OpenAI has tightened advertising rules on ChatGPT, blocking rivals in image and voice-generation AI from promoting their products on the platform, according to The Information.
The unannounced policy change prevents advertisements for standalone image and voice-generation tools, affecting major enterprise advertisers including Adobe.
Adobe had participated in OpenAI’s initial advertising pilot, promoting its Acrobat Studio and Firefly AI image generator on ChatGPT. However, Adobe’s Senior Director for Americas Media, Doug Wyatt, said advertising partners had been informed that campaigns for standalone image and voice-generation products would no longer be approved.
The restrictions come as OpenAI expands its own multimedia capabilities, including the release of ChatGPT Images 2.5 and the unveiling of ChatGPT Live voice capabilities.
The policy currently does not extend to video-generation tools, whose advertisements remain permitted on the platform.
OpenAI has also restricted some forms of organic discovery for competing products. ChatGPT has stopped returning outbound citations and external links for action-oriented image queries, including searches for photo editors and image generators.
The changes could make it harder for third-party developers to reach ChatGPT users, limiting both paid advertising and organic traffic opportunities.
The move comes as OpenAI seeks to grow its advertising business. The company has reported an annualised advertising revenue run-rate of $1 billion and previously set a target of $2.4 billion in annual advertising sales.
Restricting advertising from major enterprise software companies could create tension with that growth strategy, particularly because most of ChatGPT’s more than one billion monthly active users do not pay for premium subscriptions.
The policy shift signals a more controlled approach to commercial activity on ChatGPT, with OpenAI increasingly positioning its own image and voice capabilities within the platform while limiting competing products’ access to its users.
