OpenAI has temporarily turned off app suggestions in ChatGPT following complaints from paying users who felt certain prompts resembled ads. The company emphasized that there are currently no live ads or ad tests within the platform, but acknowledged that recent messages promoting apps like Peloton and Target “fell short” of user expectations.
Mark Chen, OpenAI’s chief research officer, admitted the company is working to improve the experience. “I agree that anything that feels like an ad needs to be handled with care, and we fell short,” Chen wrote. OpenAI said these app suggestions were meant to highlight apps built on its platform, announced in October, without any financial component attached.
Users quickly voiced skepticism online, with some accusing OpenAI of prioritizing promotions over user experience. ChatGPT head Nick Turley clarified, “There are no live tests for ads – any screenshots you’ve seen are either not real or not ads. If we do pursue ads, we’ll take a thoughtful approach. People trust ChatGPT, and anything we do will be designed to respect that.”
To address the issue, OpenAI has disabled the app suggestions while improving the model’s precision. The company is also exploring ways for users to control or completely turn off these prompts if they aren’t helpful. The move comes amid wider scrutiny of AI platforms and concerns over monetization strategies.
Earlier this year, Fidji Sumo, former executive at Instacart and Facebook, joined OpenAI as CEO of Applications, fueling speculation about an advertising push. However, a recent memo from CEO Sam Altman reportedly marked a “code red,” prioritizing improvements to ChatGPT’s quality over new products like advertising, signaling that user experience remains the top priority.
source: Techcrunch