OpenAI Accelerates Ad Sprint With Meta Hires, Slashed Prices

Alix Coutures reports OpenAI’s ad team is about 140 people, nearly half hired July–September (Crustdata), with Meta the biggest source; it has reorganised seven times since ads launched in February (two people familiar). Annualised ad revenue hit $1B in late August, versus overall revenue nearing a $50B annualised pace at end-September; OpenAI had projected $2.4B of 2026 ad revenue to investors and is likely to fall short. Advertisers rose to about 60,000 in early October from 20,000 in late August (New Street Research); ads run in 60+ countries. After Fidji Simo stepped back from her full-time role in early July, ad chief Dave Dugan (12 years at Meta) reorganised sales into industry verticals plus an agency team; senior hires include Mitch Pilar, Andy Sinn and Mark Bambury (head of ads, EMEA, late September). Prices have fallen: about $5 a click versus $30–$50 on Google for comparable B2B clients (one agency founder). OpenAI now targets SMBs via outsourcers TP, Concentrix and Accenture, and has added image ads and outside measurement partners. Caveats: most advertisers still spend test budgets (1–5% of annual spend); advertisers call targeting a “black box”; Adthena found about 1 in 9 of ~187,000 placements unrelated to the query; Sensor Tower’s +40% October US spend is an extrapolated estimate.