OpenAI began showing labeled ads to logged-in adults on ChatGPT’s Free and Go tiers in India in late August 2026, extending a feature already operating in more than 40 countries.

OpenAI says ads do not affect ChatGPT’s responses and advertisers do not receive private conversations, but those assurances address separate issues: how chats select ads, whether their contents are shared, and whether the platform keeps data for other uses.

That distinction matters because AI advertising can use patterns in searches, clicks and conversations to infer users’ interests, plans, budgets or personal circumstances—even when an inference is wrong or users do not know it was made.

Personalized ads can be useful when they meet a real need, but may feel invasive when they identify vulnerability, such as financial stress, and encourage an unplanned purchase; clear disclosure and meaningful user control are key.

Chatbot conversations may reveal more personal context than ordinary searches: a University of Washington study cited in the article found that 82% of respondents viewed such conversations as sensitive or highly sensitive, reflecting perceptions rather than evidence of misuse.

The article points to Meta as another example: since December 16, 2025, Meta has used Meta AI interactions to shape content and ads on Facebook and Instagram in most regions, excluding the UK, EU and South Korea; although it says health, religion and politics are excluded from ad targeting, users cannot opt out of chats being factored in, but can adjust ad-personalization settings.

In India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, allows processing based on consent or specified legitimate uses, with consent tied to a stated purpose; rules were notified in November 2025, but the main obligations and penalties do not begin until May 2027, and the Act does not automatically ban inference-based advertising.

The article argues that platforms should explain what they infer about users, what information informs those predictions and how people can refuse their use; deleting a chat may not remove related advertising data because the controls can be separate.

To reduce exposure, users are advised to keep identifying, financial and health details out of chatbot conversations; check chat-deletion, memory and ad-personalization settings separately; limit app permissions; use tracker blockers; and review their inferred-interest profiles.