WSJ Tech News Briefing · Friday, September 18, 2026
OpenAI's advertising system on ChatGPT does not utilize browser cookies for ad targeting. Instead, it analyzes the intent and signals derived from user conversations within the platform to serve relevant ads. For instance, a conversation about beaches might trigger ads from travel companies like Expedia.
“So no, they're not really using browser cookies to determine what ads to show. The way it works is the ads are served based on the intent or basically the signals that the system is getting from the types of questions and conversation that person is having with ChatGPT.”
“So for an example, if I'm on ChatGPT and I'm looking for the best places to visit to find the most pristine beaches, per se. Open AI's technology looks at all the signals within my conversation and then it has a raft of advertisers that are in the system and they insert keywords and phrases and the technology picks out what ad to put at the bottom of this conversation that is the most relevant to the subject matter that the person's discussing.”