OpenAI's ChatGPT advertising pilot project is facing challenges. The first batch of advertisers involved reported that the advertising process was low in technical complexity and lacked sufficient data to verify ad effectiveness. According to a report by The Information, executives from two agency companies stated that they could not prove that the ads delivered measurable business results for their clients. Since its launch in February 2026, the pilot project has only targeted free and lowest-tier paid users in the United States, with ad pricing set at $60 per thousand impressions. Advertisers are required to pre-commit to a minimum ad spend budget of $200,000. However, the frequency of ad displays has been insufficient, with actual budget consumption falling far short of expectations, as clients have only spent 15% to 20% of their committed budgets. The core issue of difficulty in verifying ad effectiveness lies in the lack of data. Currently, OpenAI only provides basic data such as impression and click counts, lacking rich performance data such as audience profiling and conversion tracking. To address this shortcoming, OpenAI is collaborating with ad tech company Criteo, but industry insiders have expressed doubts about its practical value. Despite this, OpenAI still plans to expand the reach of its advertising, showing ads to all free and low-cost ChatGPT users in the United States in the coming weeks, and plans to launch its own ad management software, though it has not yet announced a timeline for a broader rollout.