March 21 (Reuters) - OpenAI will begin showing ads to

all users of the free and Go versions of ChatGPT in the United

States in the coming weeks, a company spokesperson said in an

emailed statement to Reuters.

The move was first reported by The Information.

OpenAI has recently integrated Criteo, an advertising

technology firm that provides an interface for buying ads and

improving targeting, into its advertising pilot for the free and

Go versions of ChatGPT in the U.S., Criteo said in a statement

earlier this month.

Criteo has been pitching advertisers on committing between

$50,000 and $100,000 in spending, according to The Information.

OpenAI has also advised advertisers that supplying more

variations of ad text and visuals can increase how often ads are

shown and improve performance, the Information added.

OpenAI has been exploring advertising as a new revenue

stream as usage of ChatGPT has surged, Reuters has reported.

The company is seeking to diversify revenue as it faces

rising costs for computing infrastructure amid intensifying

competition in generative AI.