Saad Ullah
● Tech analyst Tibor Blaho dropped some interesting intel from The Information: OpenAI is moving ChatGPT into what they're calling a "second phase"—and it's all about ads and keeping users hooked. The driving force? A flood of ex-Meta executives who've brought their playbook with them.
● Here's the kicker: OpenAI has pulled in roughly 630 former Meta employees. That's about 20% of their entire 3,000-person team. And these aren't just random hires—they're running major divisions. Fidji Simo, who used to lead Facebook itself, is now CEO of Applications at OpenAI. Vijaye Raji, formerly VP of Entertainment at Facebook, is now CTO of Applications. Kate Rouch jumped from VP of Brand and Product Marketing at Meta to become OpenAI's Chief Marketing Officer. There's even a Slack channel specifically for ex-Meta folks, which tells you just how much Meta DNA has been injected into the company.
● So what are they planning? According to people who work there, OpenAI is testing whether ChatGPT could serve ads based on its memory—basically using what it knows about you to show targeted advertising. The Information reports that focus groups found something surprising: some users already think ChatGPT has ads. That misconception has apparently become ammunition for the pro-advertising camp inside the company.
● The culture at the top is shifting too. Sam Altman used to call ads a "last resort" and said they were "uniquely unsettling." Now? He's saying they're "somewhat distasteful but not a nonstarter." That's quite the evolution. Fidji Simo went even further, telling the whole company in a recent meeting that they're exploring how advertising could actually "benefit users."
● It's a fascinating pivot—OpenAI started as an AI research lab focused on building AGI, and now it's seriously considering the same ad-driven model that built Meta's empire. Whether users will embrace ads in their AI assistant remains to be seen.
Saad Ullah
