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NewsFreeAugust 2026 Edition · Issue of 28 August 2026

ChatGPT now shows ads in Switzerland

Archive · Issue of 28 August 2026

What happened

From Monday 24 August, OpenAI started showing ads in ChatGPT in 31 European markets: the 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (Organisator, Index Lab). OpenAI announced the expansion on 18 August. Only Free and Go users see ads. Plus, Pro and Enterprise stay ad-free (OpenAI).

Why it matters for your business

Two things change.

As a user: staff on free ChatGPT accounts now see ads below some answers. OpenAI says ads are labelled, kept separate from the answer, and do not influence what ChatGPT says. It also says advertisers do not see conversations (OpenAI). Even so, it’s one more reason to move work use onto a paid business plan, which also gives you better data terms.

As an advertiser: ChatGPT is now an ad channel in Switzerland. Ads appear when a conversation touches a buying decision, for example “which bookkeeping firm in Winterthur handles payroll?”. At launch, ads were booked through OpenAI’s sales team and large agency groups, not self-service (Organisator). Pricing for small advertisers was not public. Press reports quoted high entry budgets; we could not confirm them from OpenAI.

The Swiss angle

Switzerland is in from day one, although it is not in the EU or EEA (Index Lab). OpenAI says users can control ad personalisation, and that the ad-free paid plans remain an option (OpenAI).

What to do

If your staff use free ChatGPT for work, use this as the nudge to move them to a business plan. If you’re curious about advertising, don’t rush: wait until self-service opens and real costs for small budgets are known. Meanwhile, ask ChatGPT about your own trade and town and see whether your business comes up at all. That’s free.

Update, October 2026: on 31 August OpenAI updated its announcement to say self-service access through Ads Manager is now available in all 31 European markets (OpenAI).

Sources

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