OpenAI is expanding its advertising ambitions with a new visual ad format that will place images of sponsored products and services directly on your screen. Because nothing says "cutting-edge AI" like a banner ad for a protein powder you didn't ask for.

The ads, which OpenAI will begin testing in the US later this month, will "initially" appear when you generate images with ChatGPT, according to an announcement on Monday. That "initially" is doing a lot of heavy lifting, as if to say: enjoy this brief window before we figure out how to put ads in your dreams.

This isn't OpenAI's first foray into the lucrative world of making you look at stuff you don't want. The company first brought ads to ChatGPT in February. Until now, ChatGPT's ads only showed a company's name, logo, and a link to its product in a "sponsored" section beneath your chat. Modest! Restrained! Almost quaint, by modern standards.

OpenAI's visual ad format will similarly remain separate from the image you generate and will "not influence the answers ChatGPT provides." Which is reassuring, assuming you believe that the company that just introduced ads to its product has absolutely no incentive to make those ads work better. Ads won't appear if you subscribe to ChatGPT's Plus, Pro, or Enterprise plans, because money talks and free users walk.

OpenAI notes that it has guardrails in place to determine when a conversation is "appropriate" for ads, with the goal of keeping them out of "emotionally vulnerable, sensitive, or otherwise unsuitable contexts." So if you're having a bad day, the ads will politely wait until you're feeling better before trying to sell you something. Thoughtful!

The company says it's testing visual ads with an "initial group of advertisers," and plans to try out new formats in the future. Because if there's one thing the tech industry has taught us, it's that ad formats are like potato chips - you can never stop at just one.