OpenAI Rolls Out ChatGPT Ads in Seven New Asian Markets

OpenAI said on September 23, 2026 that ChatGPT Ads is beginning to roll out across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan, extending the advertising platform’s availability to more than 60 countries.

The rollout follows earlier Asia-Pacific launches in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and India. As in OpenAI’s existing markets, ads will be shown only to users on the Free and Go plans, while Plus, Pro, and Enterprise subscriptions remain ad-free. The company framed advertising as a way to support free and low-cost access to ChatGPT in line with its mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

“We’re at the beginning of a new chapter for advertising, with AI creating new ways for businesses and people to connect,” Dave Dugan, OpenAI’s vice president and head of global ads solutions, said in OpenAI’s announcement. “Our expansion into more markets across Asia brings that opportunity to businesses of every size, from global brands looking for new ways to grow to entrepreneurs and startups running their first campaign.”

Advertiser Access and Self-Service Availability

In the new markets, advertisers can access ChatGPT Ads through the OpenAI Ads Solutions team, agency partners including dentsu, Havas Media, Omnicom Media, Publicis Groupe and WPP, and technology partners. Self-service access through Ads Manager is also available for eligible businesses.

OpenAI’s Help Center documentation states that to use self-service Ads Manager, the legal entity that will advertise and be billed must be based in a country listed as available. Its availability table lists each of the seven new markets — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam — as available for self-service.

The documentation notes that account creation and self-service availability are separate, with access depending on the advertiser’s country. Businesses in countries where self-service access is not yet available can still sign up for an account and will be notified when it becomes available. Larger advertisers with more complex needs can contact the OpenAI Ads team to discuss sales support.

Shopee Partnership in the New Markets

Peggy Zhu, Shopee’s executive director of brand and growth marketing, said the e-commerce company is extending its collaboration with OpenAI to Southeast Asia and Taiwan following the launch of ChatGPT Ads in Brazil. Zhu described OpenAI as a valued strategic partner and said Shopee is expanding access to AI-powered tools that help buyers discover what they need and enable sellers to reach and serve customers more effectively across its markets. She called the extension another step in Shopee’s deepening partnership with OpenAI.

Ads Principles and User Controls

OpenAI said the expansion operates under its published ads principles: conversations are kept private from advertisers, customer data is never sold, ads are clearly labeled and kept separate from ChatGPT’s answers, and advertising does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides. Under the principles, users can control ad personalization, and ad-free paid plans remain available for those who prefer not to see ads.

OpenAI first published those principles on January 16, 2026, setting out five commitments: mission alignment, answer independence, conversation privacy, choice and control, and long-term value. In the same post, the company said it planned to begin testing ads in the United States for logged-in adults on the free and Go tiers, with clearly labeled ads placed at the bottom of answers when a relevant sponsored product or service matched the current conversation.

The January 2026 post said users would be able to learn why they were shown a particular ad, dismiss any ad, and provide a reason for doing so. OpenAI also said that during the test it would not show ads in accounts where the user states, or the company predicts, that the user is under 18, and that ads would not be eligible to appear near sensitive or regulated topics such as health, mental health, or politics. The company said it does not optimize for time spent in ChatGPT and that it prioritizes user trust and user experience over revenue.

Revenue Run Rate and Expansion Plans

OpenAI said that in late August 2026 it announced ChatGPT Ads had reached $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate less than 200 days after launch. The company said tens of thousands of advertisers are now running ads in ChatGPT, many reaching people across multiple countries.

Over the next few months, OpenAI said, it will continue expanding into new markets and building new formats, optimization tools, and measurement solutions.