OpenAI and peers under $1B AI ad revenue this year
OpenAI had big plans for making money from AI ads, but they're not hitting the mark.
According to Emarketer (via AdWeek), OpenAI and other tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are expected to earn less than $1 billion from AI ads this year, even though OpenAI hoped for $2.5 billion in 2026.
This gap makes their dream of reaching $100 billion a year by 2030 look pretty tough.
Addressable chatbot ad market at $5.4B
Emarketer estimates the entire addressable market for chatbot advertising at $5.4 billion, capping how fast it can grow.
For OpenAI to get close to its goal, advertisers would need to shift away from search engines and social media toward AI ads, a huge change in habits.
Even with $1.6 trillion invested in AI so far, these slow returns are making investors nervous about whether the industry can really deliver on its promises.