December 7, 2025
Ad or not? Users call BS
OpenAI disables ChatGPT app suggestions that looked like ads
Users clap back at “not-ads”; OpenAI slams brakes as paying fans cry foul
TLDR: OpenAI shut off ChatGPT’s app suggestions after paid users said they looked like ads and posted “receipts.” Commenters mocked the apology, questioned trust, and warned they’ll switch tools—highlighting a bigger fight over whether a paid AI should ever feel like a billboard.
OpenAI quietly tested a “suggested apps” feature inside ChatGPT—and paying users promptly lost it. Screens filled with promos for brands like Peloton and Target had subscribers fuming, with one snapping: “Don’t insult your paying users.” OpenAI swears there was no financial component and has now turned the feature off while it “improves precision.”
But the internet jury delivered its verdict in all-caps. Commenters blasted the move as sneaky and seasonal—“holiday shopping push, anyone?”—and roasted the apology as corporate Mad Libs. One user quipped they “wouldn’t give out valuable ad space for free,” while another mocked the “wE FeLlL ShOrT” playbook as 2025’s least convincing mea culpa. Others called the experience “garbage clogging up screen space” and threatened to ditch ChatGPT for open-source tools. Receipts were posted too; one commenter linked to what users were actually seeing on X, while another shared the original thread here.
Execs doubled down: Head of ChatGPT Nick Turley said there are no live ads tests, and any screenshots are either “not real or not ads.” Still, rumors swirl—especially after the hiring of a former Facebook ads exec and reports of a “code red” to focus on quality. The crowd’s verdict: even the hint of ads in a paid AI is a trust breaker.
Key Points
- •OpenAI disabled a ChatGPT feature that suggested third-party apps after user complaints that it looked like ads.
- •Mark Chen said the rollout 'fell short' and paused suggestions to improve model precision and add user controls.
- •OpenAI stated the intent was to surface apps built on the ChatGPT platform and that there was no financial component.
- •Nick Turley said there are no live tests for ads and promised any future approach would respect user trust.
- •WSJ reported Sam Altman’s 'code red' prioritizing ChatGPT quality, delaying initiatives including advertising.