Can you turn off ads in ChatGPT for free?

Yes, on the Free plan. In Settings, open Ads controls, choose Change plan to go ad-free, then Reduce message limits. Ads disappear, but you get fewer messages and lose some tools, such as image generation and deep research (OpenAI help center, September 2026).

Can ChatGPT Go users turn off ads?

Not while staying on Go. OpenAI says the ad-free option belongs to the Free plan, so a Go user has to move back to Free to use it or upgrade to Plus or Pro, which have no ads. Go users can still turn off ad personalization.

Does turning off ad personalization remove ads?

No. With personalization off you still see ads, chosen from the chat you're in rather than from your other chats, ad history and memory. To remove ads you need the Free plan's ad-free mode, a Temporary Chat, or a Plus or Pro plan.

Which ChatGPT plans have no ads?

Plus ($20 a month), Pro (from $100), Business, Enterprise and Edu have no ads. Free and Go can show them. OpenAI also doesn't show ads to accounts it identifies as belonging to people under 18.

Do ChatGPT ads change the answers?

OpenAI says no: ads run on separate systems, appear below the answer with a sponsored label, and advertisers can't shape or rank responses. Advertisers get only aggregated numbers such as views and clicks, not your chats.

How to turn off ChatGPT ads: every option

ChatGPT shows ads on Free and Go. Switch Free to ad-free for lower limits, use a Temporary Chat, or pay for Plus. Exact steps and what each costs you.

How to turn off ChatGPT ads

On the Free plan, open Settings, choose Ads controls, and switch to the ad-free option. It removes ads in exchange for fewer messages and no image generation or deep research. On Go there is no ad-free switch, so the only way to lose the ads entirely is to pay for Plus or move back to Free.

Ads started in the US on February 9, 2026 and appear only on the Free and Go plans. Every step below comes from OpenAI's "Ads in ChatGPT" help article as it stood on September 20, 2026.

Your options at a glance

Option	Removes ads?	What it costs you	Plans
Switch to Ads-Free	Yes	Fewer messages; no image generation or deep research	Free only
Use a Temporary Chat	Yes, in that chat	The chat doesn't use or update ChatGPT's memory	Free and Go
Upgrade to Plus or Pro	Yes	$20 a month for Plus, from $100 for Pro	Any
Turn off ad personalization	No, ads become less tailored	Nothing	Free and Go
Delete ads data	No, clears what ads were based on	Nothing	Free and Go
Hide or report one ad	That ad only	Nothing	Free and Go

Step by step: switch the Free plan to ad-free

Open Settings in ChatGPT, on the web or in the app.
Select Ads controls. If you don't see it in the phone app, update the app first; OpenAI says older versions don't show it.
Tap Change plan to go ad-free.
Choose Reduce message limits. This is the option that removes the ads.
Confirm. ChatGPT shows a prompt explaining the trade before you do.

From then on there are no ads, but you'll hit the message limit more often, and some tools stop working, including image generation and deep research. When you hit a limit, ChatGPT shows a banner with two ways out: upgrade, or Show ads, which puts you back on the ad-supported Free plan with its higher limits. You can also switch back from Settings, then Ads controls.

The quick fix for one conversation: Temporary Chat

OpenAI's help article says Temporary Chats don't show ads. Start one when you want a single conversation without them. The cost is that a Temporary Chat doesn't use or update ChatGPT's memory, so it starts without anything ChatGPT has learned about you.

If you're on ChatGPT Go

Go costs $8 a month and still shows ads, and it can't use the ad-free mode. OpenAI's answer to Go users is direct: the ad-free option is a Free-plan feature, so you'd have to move back to Free to use it, or upgrade to Plus or Pro.

I have Go through my Revolut subscription, and I think it's a bad tier for this reason among others. In a small writing test I ran on September 2, 2026, three of the five answers I captured had an ad underneath: an executive search firm under a recruiter email, gift hampers under a restaurant review. I wrote at the time: "I was impressed by ChatGPT, but the ads were quite annoying." The full test is in the best AI for writing, and the plan itself is reviewed in is ChatGPT Go worth it.

What Go users can do is make the ads less personal, which is the next section.

Make the ads less personal

If you keep the ads, Settings, then Ads controls, gives you these switches on Free and Go:

Personalize ads: off means ChatGPT picks ads from the chat you're in, and stops using your other chats, your ad history and the topics it has inferred about you.
Past chats and memory: off means your saved memories and earlier chats no longer feed ad choices, even with personalization on.
View history and topics: shows the ads you've seen or clicked and the topics used to target you.
Delete ads data: clears that ad history and those topics. It doesn't touch your chats, and OpenAI says the data can take up to 30 days to leave its systems.

None of these removes ads. OpenAI says personalized ads weren't initially offered in the European Economic Area or Switzerland, so some of these switches may not appear there.

On any single ad, the three-dot menu lets you hide it, report it as misleading or inappropriate, see why it was shown (About this ad), or use Ask ChatGPT to discuss it. By default ChatGPT can't see the ads shown to you.

Where ChatGPT doesn't show ads

On Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans.
To accounts OpenAI identifies as belonging to someone under 18, using stated age and its age prediction.
In Temporary Chats.
In the ChatGPT Atlas browser, during the current test.
Next to sensitive topics, including personal health, mental health and politics. OpenAI also says it currently doesn't allow political advertising.

What about ad blockers?

Browser extensions that hide ChatGPT ads exist in the Chrome Web Store. Before installing one, consider what it needs: to hide an ad on the ChatGPT page, an extension has to be able to read that page, and the page is your conversation. On the phone apps, an extension isn't an option anyway. The settings above are OpenAI's own and don't involve a third party.

Is upgrading worth it just to lose the ads?

Probably not on its own. Plus at $20 a month removes ads and adds the larger GPT-6 Sol models and more tools, so it makes sense if you'd use those. My rule for Plus is that it's worth it if you program, if your work pays for it, or if you use AI professionally. Is ChatGPT Plus worth it goes through the rest.

If the ads are the main problem, two other apps commit to having none. Anthropic said in February 2026 that Claude will remain ad-free. Plainly, which I built, costs $5 a month and has no ads, and the team doesn't use chats to train AI. The wider list is in the best cheap ChatGPT alternatives.

What OpenAI says ads do and don't see

OpenAI says ads don't influence ChatGPT's answers, run on separate systems from the chat model, and appear below the end of a response with a sponsored label. Advertisers don't receive your chats, chat history, memories, name, email, precise location or IP address. They get aggregated numbers such as views and clicks. If you message an advertiser through an ad, they see only the messages you send them.

What the ad system does use, depending on your settings: the chat you're in, your general location and language, and, with personalization on, your past chats, memory and how you've interacted with earlier ads.