OpenAI restricts competitor ads on ChatGPT, blocks image and audio generators

On September 10, 2026, OpenAI announced it had quietly updated its advertising policy for ChatGPT, banning commercial ads for image and audio generation tools by competitors. The change, revealed by The Information, affects products like Adobe’s Firefly AI image generator. OpenAI has informed business partners it will no longer accept ad campaigns for image and voice generation tools, though video generation ads remain permitted. Doug Wyatt, Senior Director of Americas Media at Adobe, confirmed the policy shift, noting Adobe had previously run ads on ChatGPT for its Acrobat Studio and Firefly tools. OpenAI also adjusted ChatGPT’s discovery mechanism, stopping the return of external referral links for image-related queries. This move has deprived third-party developers of both organic and paid traffic. ChatGPT launched its advertising business in the U.S. in February 2026, initially targeting free and low-cost users. Within 200 days, its annualized revenue surpassed $1 billion, exceeding internal targets of $2.5 billion for 2026.