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How ChatGPT Ads Could Target You Using Your Email Address
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Firstpost•16-10-2026, 13:05
How ChatGPT Ads Could Target You Using Your Email Address
- •OpenAI's advertising system can factor in information supplied by advertisers, including identifiers like email addresses and phone numbers, to build target audiences.
- •Advertisers can upload customer lists to define audiences for ChatGPT campaigns, though OpenAI states that uploaded files are deleted after processing and individual users cannot be identified.
- •Inclusion targeting requires at least 25,000 matched users, while smaller groups can be used for exclusion targeting to restrict how narrowly lists are applied.
- •Disabling ad personalisation limits the data used for targeting based on wider activity, but ads may still appear using the immediate context of the current conversation.
- •OpenAI maintains that advertisers cannot read private conversations, and that ads do not influence the answers generated by ChatGPT.
Key Questions Answered
Advertisers can upload audience lists containing identifiers such as email addresses, telephone numbers, SHA-256-hashed details, and Google Advertising IDs to help establish target audiences on ChatGPT without relying solely on inferred interests.
ChatGPT advertisements appear for users on the Free and Go subscription plans, while Plus, Pro, Enterprise, Business, and Education plans do not carry ads.
OpenAI requires at least 25,000 matched users for inclusion targeting, while smaller groups are permitted for exclusion targeting to restrict how narrowly advertisers can apply uploaded lists.
