OpenAI has announced ChatGPT Go, a cheaper subscription tier for the popular AI chatbot. It offers several benefits over the free version. However, the Sam Altman-led company will also start testing ads in ChatGPT in the coming weeks for both mobile and web users.
OpenAI first launched the cheaper ChatGPT Go subscription in India last year. Starting January 16, 2026, it’s available worldwide, including the U.S., where it costs $8 per month. For that price, you get 10x more messages, file uploads, and image creation compared to the free version.
ChatGPT Go subscription comes with higher conversation and image-generation
More importantly, the ChatGPT Go subscription gives you access to the latest GPT-5.2 model. This model offers better reasoning, stronger fact accuracy, faster responses, and safer outputs. The latest version also has more memory to handle more context.
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ChatGPT Go costs $8 per month, sits below the Plus, which costs $20 per month, and the Pro for $200 per month subscription tiers. Those higher tiers target data analysts, researchers, scientists, and other professionals. Basically, ChatGPT Go is a low-cost upgrade with higher usage limits and more creative control.
OpenAI has offered ChatGPT Go free for 12 months to eligible Indian users as a limited-time promotion. Even without the promotion, the subscription costs a little less than $5 when converted from Indian currency.
OpenAI will soon start “testing ads in the free tier, and ChatGPT Go” for users in the United States. The more expensive tiers will stay ad-free, at least for now. This move was inevitable. Ads could create a significant income stream for the company.
At first, the platform will “test ads at the bottom of answers in ChatGPT.” These ads will mainly show up when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation. OpenAI says the ads will be clearly labeled and separated from the regular answers.
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Most importantly, OpenAI promises that your conversations with ChatGPT won’t be shared with advertisers and that ads won’t influence the chatbot’s responses. Think of this as a soft launch of advertisements in one of the world’s most popular chatbots.
This seems a bit odd at first because the whole point of chatbots like this was to have focused conversations without distractions like ads. Anyway, users over 18 in the U.S. should start seeing advertisements soon.
