OpenAI walks back ad-like app suggestions in ChatGPT, saying it "fell short" and will improve controls

• ChatGPT app suggestions have now been turned off after some users mistook them for ads
• OpenAI hints at future user controls to determine what suggestions are shown
• The backlash suggests ads would not be welcome on the platform

User anger and confusion over ads appearing in ChatGPT continues, and it now looks like OpenAI has turned off its controversial app suggestions completely, because they looked too much like ads.

Over the weekend, different leaders at OpenAI offered conflicting perspectives on the "ads that are not ads" situation, with Marc Chen, Chief Research Officer at OpenAI, suggesting, in a reply on X.com, that the company is turning off app suggestions altogether until it can "improve the model's precision."

Chen also suggested that OpenAI may implement a way for users to turn off app suggestions in the future. "We are also looking at better controls so you can dial this down or off if you do not find it helpful."

How we got here

ChatGPT recently introduced apps within conversations, which means you can invoke an app simply by asking a question. Currently, ChatGPT supports apps from Booking.com, Canva, Expedia, and others. OpenAI has also released an SDK for developers, so more apps can be added in the future.

The problem arose because ChatGPT also suggests apps automatically when they seem relevant to the discussion. For example, if you are talking about buying a new house, ChatGPT might suggest the Zillow app so you can browse listings inside ChatGPT using an interactive map.

Unfortunately, these app suggestions look extremely similar to ads when they appear, as shown in screenshots circulating online. Ads have never been part of the ChatGPT experience until now.

User confusion

Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, denied that OpenAI was running ads in a post on X, suggesting the confusion was due to user misunderstanding rather than OpenAI's intentions.

"I'm seeing lots of confusion about ad rumors in ChatGPT. There are no live tests for ads, and any screenshots you have seen are either not real or not ads. If we do pursue ads, we will take a thoughtful approach. People trust ChatGPT, and anything we do will be designed to respect that."

But as users pointed out, if an app suggestion is indistinguishable from an ad, it does not matter what OpenAI calls it because the user experience is exactly the same.

"Fake ones aside, the real ones that are 'not ads' are still eroding trust in the ChatGPT experience because they feel like ads," said X user Ben Dickenson.

In contrast, Marc Chen was more conciliatory and admitted that ChatGPT's app suggestions felt like ads. He stated that the company has currently turned them off, saying it "fell short" of user expectations.

Falling short

There appears to have been some internal confusion at OpenAI over the weekend. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is usually quick to comment on ChatGPT issues, has been noticeably quiet on X recently, and there has not been an official statement from the OpenAI account.

It seems inevitable that ads will arrive on the ChatGPT platform one day, but the user backlash over app suggestions that looked like ads suggests they would not be welcomed, especially by paying customers.

OpenAI may insist these were not ads, but users have made it clear that intent does not matter; only perception does. When ChatGPT brings suggestions back, they will need to feel unmistakably different from advertising, or the backlash will return just as fast.

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