- ChatGPT app offers are now disabled after some users mistook them for advertisements.
- OpenAI hints at future user controls to determine which offers are shown
- The reaction suggests that advertising on the platform will not be welcomed.
Users' anger and confusion about advertisement appears in ChatGPT continues, and now it looks like OpenAI has completely pulled the plug on its controversial app offerings because they look too much like ads.
Over the weekend, different OpenAI executives offered conflicting views on the “ads that aren't ads” situation. Mark Chen, OpenAI's research director, suggested in response to X.com that the company disable app suggestions generally until he can “improve the accuracy of the model.”
Chen also suggested that OpenAI might give users the ability to turn off app suggestions in the future. “We're also looking into better controls so you can reduce or disable this feature if it doesn't help you.”
I agree that anything that looks like advertising should be handled with caution, and we didn't do that. We have disabled such suggestions while we work to improve the accuracy of the model. We're also working on improving the controls so you can reduce or disable this feature if it doesn't help you.December 5, 2025
How did we get here
ChatGPT was recently introduced apps in conversationswhich means you can trigger the app just by asking a question. ChatGPT currently supports apps from Booking.com, Canva, Expedia, and more. OpenAI has also released an SDK for developers, so more applications can be added in the future.
The problem arose because ChatGPT also automatically suggests apps when they seem relevant for discussion. For example, if you're talking about buying a new home, ChatGPT might suggest the Zillow app so you can browse listings inside ChatGPT using an interactive map.
Unfortunately, these app offers look a lot like advertisements when they appear, as shown in screenshots circulating online. Until now, advertising has never been a part of ChatGPT.
User Confusion
Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT, in a post on X denied that OpenAI was running the ad, suggesting that the confusion was due to user misunderstanding rather than OpenAI's intentions.
I see a lot of confusion about rumors about advertising on ChatGPT. There are no live ad tests – any screenshots you see are either fake or not advertising. If we use advertising, we will take a thoughtful approach. People trust ChatGPT and everything we do will take that into account.December 6, 2025
“I'm seeing a lot of confusion about rumors of advertising on ChatGPT. There are no live tests for advertising and any screenshots you saw are either not real or not advertising. If we use advertising, we will take a thoughtful approach. People trust ChatGPT and everything we do will be designed with that in mind.”
But as users point out, if an app's offer is indistinguishable from advertising, it doesn't matter what OpenAI calls it, because the user experience is exactly the same.
“Apart from the fake ones, the real ones that are 'not advertising' still undermine the credibility of ChatGPT because they appear to be advertising,” said user X. Ben Dickenson.
Mark Chen, on the other hand, was more conciliatory and admitted that ChatGPT's app offers resemble advertising. He said the company has now disabled them, saying they “did not meet” users' expectations.
Flaw
There appears to have been some internal confusion at OpenAI over the weekend. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is usually quick to comment on ChatGPT's issues, has been noticeably silent on X lately, and there has been no official statement from the OpenAI account.
It seems inevitable that advertising will one day appear on the ChatGPT platform, but user reaction to app offers that looked like advertising suggests they won't be welcomed, especially by paying customers.
OpenAI may insist it wasn't an advertisement, but users have made it clear that intent doesn't matter; only perception does. When ChatGPT returns offers, they will have to be clearly different from the ads, otherwise the backlash will return just as quickly.
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