# ChatGPT Ads now show during image generation, Search Engine Roundtable reports

Published: 2026-11-10T11:31:30.292Z · Source: Search Engine Roundtable (https://www.seroundtable.com/openai-chatgpt-ads-visual-ads-42493.html)
Second source: OpenAI (Oct. 5 announcement) (https://openai.com/index/new-chatgpt-ads-format-and-measurement/)
Source date: 2026-11-10
Entities: openai, chatgpt

Per Search Engine Roundtable, ChatGPT is displaying an ad headed "Here's an ad while we create your image" while an image is being generated; the ad disappears once the image is finished. Barry Schwartz reproduced it himself after a tip from Juozas Kaziukėnas, who said he began seeing it on Nov. 10 in a conversation unrelated to the advertised product. OpenAI announced the format on Oct. 5 and said testing would start "later this month" in the US with an initial group of advertisers; neither the report nor the sightings say how many users or advertisers are in the test.

Why it matters: Ads now sit inside a ChatGPT task that is neither a search nor a question, which widens the surface advertisers can buy and moves part of the paid layer away from anything answer-engine optimization can influence.

## What this answers

**Does ChatGPT show ads while it generates an image?**

Yes, in at least some accounts. Search Engine Roundtable reproduced an ad headed "Here's an ad while we create your image" that disappears once the image finishes, and a second user reported seeing one on Nov. 10.

**When did OpenAI announce the ChatGPT image-generation ad format?**

OpenAI announced it on Oct. 5, 2026 as a new visual ad format, saying testing would begin later that month in the US with an initial group of advertisers.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-11-10-chatgpt-ads-now-show-during-image-generation-search-engine-roundtable/
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