OpenAI said on Friday that it will start showing ads in ChatGPT in a major step to boost revenue amid the high costs of the developing technology.

OpenAI is introducing advertising on ChatGPT, as the $500bn start-up seeks new sources of revenue to fuel its continued expansion and fend off fierce competition from rivals Google and Anthropic.

ZDNET's key takeaways ChatGPT Health and Claude for Healthcare both debuted last week.Google's MedGemma 1.5 model was introduced shortly thereafter.They all signal the growing presence of AI within healthcare.

Kids safety advocate Common Sense Media and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI joined together today to advance a ballot measure that would amend the California Constitution in order to protect kids from companion chatbots online.

The measure is the country’s first major statewide proposal to regulate the use of AI chatbots by children, following a series of lawsuits against OpenAI that allege the company played a role in the suicides of children and teens who interacted closely with ChatGPT.

OpenAI claims it will not use personal data or chat prompts for ad targeting, though analysts caution about the long-term implications. Paddy Harrington of Forrester said, “Free services are never actually free… if the service is free, you’re the product.”

AI companies are engaged in an expensive arms race to attract users and alleviate public anxiety about the technology.