OpenAI is adding visual ads to ChatGPT and rolling out text watermarking in the EU — two distinct, regionally staggered changes arriving later this month. Neither applies globally yet. Neither affects Plus or Team subscribers’ core experience, though watermarking will appear across all plans for users in the EU. Free and Go users will see the new ads. Watermarking is mandatory for EU-based ChatGPT and Codex users, but optional elsewhere via API opt-in. Visual ads will appear while images are being generated. Not overlaid on them, but adjacent, clearly labeled, and contextually gated: they won’t show in emotionally vulnerable or sensitive chats. OpenAI says the ads will have “no influence over the AI’s response,” and that guardrails include both automated checks and human oversight. The company describes the format as helping people “imagine how products and services could fit into their lives”, using thumbnails or a full-width image to show product inspiration, usage, or experiences enabled. Early tests, according to OpenAI, found lower cost-per-acquisition rates and higher new-customer acquisition for advertisers. Text watermarking uses OpenAI’s textGrain system, which it says “matched or exceeded” Google DeepMind’s SynthID and Anthropic’s August rollout. Both also tied to the EU AI Act. But OpenAI explicitly warns that textGrain “does not guarantee reliable detection” and does not verify accuracy, ownership, human contribution, or authorship. Detection tools are restricted to approved researchers and expert organizations, no public release. API customers worldwide can now opt in to watermarked outputs. Cloud partners will add watermarking support “in the coming weeks.” OpenAI labels ChatGPT “the world’s largest AI-native consumer platform,” citing 1.2 billion weekly users. A claim it uses to distinguish itself from broader platforms like Google Search, which it notes is “not an ‘AI-native’ platform,” despite AI summaries in search results.