For Immediate Release: January 16, 2026
Contact: press@techjusticelaw.org
Tech Justice Law Project Statement on OpenAI’s Announcement of ChatGPT’s Advertising Pivot
Tech Justice Law Project (TJLP) Director of Legal & Strategy Sarah Kay Wiley issued the following statement in response to news that ChatGPT would begin targeting users through new ads:
“The announcement that OpenAI will begin to monetize users’ most intimate chat data by launching advertising within its ChatGPT product should concern Americans in every community.
“Tech Justice Law Project has seen firsthand how manipulative OpenAI’s products are, driving users to make drastic decisions, develop psychosis, and even take their own lives. Now that same capability will be used to sell products and influence the way people across the country think, all because AI companies continue to struggle to find a workable business model for the insanely high costs of their businesses.
“OpenAI has continuously worked to shield user data from court review when it could open them up to liability for harms caused by ChatGPT. It’s the height of hypocrisy for the company to now use that very same chat data to profit from advertisers.
“Paid content embedded within GenAI responses must be disclosed and transparent to users. If left unchecked, advertising within AI responses could prove far more dangerous than the social media ad model that policymakers and consumers already consider broken and rife with scams.
“Americans deserve transparency into how their data will be used, what content is paid for by advertisers, and why they are seeing it. Tech Justice Law Project will continue to monitor the launch of ads within GenAI products closely to ensure citizens’ rights are protected.”
Image Attribution: Behaviour Power by Bart Fish & Power Tools of AI / Better Images of AI / CC-BY 4.0
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THE TECH JUSTICE LAW PROJECT (“TJLP”) is a pioneering, women-led strategic litigation and advocacy organization bringing justice to communities harmed by tech products. TJLP co-filed the first-ever, groundbreaking lawsuits against a popular, “AI” chatbot product developed with support by Google, Character AI, and its co-founders, raising public awareness of chatbots’ real-world harms. TJLP’s cases and advocacy have also focused government attention on harmful chatbots, including unlicensed therapy chatbots. TJLP brings together legal experts, policy advocates, digital rights organizations, and technologists to ensure that our legal protections are fit for the digital age.