As you know, OpenAI said they would release ads in ChatGPT and then about ten days ago, said the ads went live for a limited number of users. Since then, we have not seen reports of anyone seeing ads in the wild within ChatGPT until now.
Those ads, at least the ones spotted in the wild, were from Expedia and were spotted by Ashley Fletcher from Adthena. He posted this screenshot of them:
The query or prompt was [What’s the best way to book a weekend away?] and it did not require a follow up prompt to trigger the ads. The ads just showed up at the bottom of the first response.
Ashley wrote, "Contrary to early predictions that ads would only appear after a back-and-forth dialogue, these triggered immediately on the first prompt response." "Notably, the UI features a prominent brand favicon and a "Sponsored" label, slightly different to OpenAI's original concepts," he added.
Hat tip:
Well there you have it, the first sighting of ChatGPT ads in the wild. I still cannot get any to trigger across free accounts, but seems Adthena spotted one from Expedia. It's like seeing Bigfoot in the wild. :) 🔎 https://t.co/k1mF3OzoUb
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) February 19, 2026
Forum discussion at LinkedIn.
Update: More:
More examples of ChatGPT ads in the wild. The experience didn't sound great for @EmilyForlini. And the targeting might be off -> I'm Seeing Ads in ChatGPT, and OpenAI Broke Its Promise. Here's What They Look Like
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) February 22, 2026
From Emily: "On mobile, one advertisement I saw took up nearly the… pic.twitter.com/dB6nqhsDvz
When you are having a conversation with chatgpt on mobile, the ads it shows take up the whole screen when you start to reply, hiding the conversation. Ruins the flow. (from https://t.co/hwoiC5UrzK) pic.twitter.com/rIddJlTJoY
— Juozas Kaziukėnas (@juokaz) February 23, 2026
