Tech

How ChatGPT Targets Ads To You Based On Your Prompts, Phone Number, and Email

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 16/10/2026, 16:13:24 UTC.

Briefings

OpenAI allows advertisers to inject targeted ads into ChatGPT sessions using user data like email, phone number, or unique identifiers. 404 Media conducted tests confirming this functionality, noting that while standard across the industry, the one billion monthly active users may not realize they are being targeted due to uploaded personal data. The system also targets prompts users enter, which are sometimes reviewed by humans or used for ad targeting, making the targeting mechanism novel and potentially sensitive to private inputs.

Key points

• Advertisers can inject ads into ChatGPT sessions using user data such as email address, phone number, or a unique identifier on their phone.
• 404 Media confirmed that ChatGPT's ad targeting is based on prompts users enter, which may be reviewed by humans or used for ad targeting purposes.

Context

OpenAI's ChatGPT platform allows advertisers to inject targeted ads into user sessions. This capability is standard practice in the advertising industry but is novel because it targets users based on their personal data and prompts, potentially exposing sensitive information to advertisers.

Limitations

Evidence is limited to 404 Media's own tests of ChatGPT's advertising ecosystem. No specific dates, numbers, or causal claims are supported beyond the confirmation of ad injection capability and the targeting mechanism.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 24/10/2026, 20:28:43 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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