{"id":93318,"date":"2026-01-20T11:41:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=93318"},"modified":"2026-01-20T11:45:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:45:36","slug":"openai-to-launch-ai-device-and-introduce-ads-in-chatgpt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/openai-to-launch-ai-device-and-introduce-ads-in-chatgpt\/","title":{"rendered":"OpenAI to Launch AI Device and Introduce Ads in ChatGPT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>OpenAI is &#8220;on track&#8221; to unveil its first device in the latter half of 2026, according to Chris Lehane, the company&#8217;s global affairs director, in a conversation with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/01\/19\/openai-device-2026-lehane-jony-ive\">Axios<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In May 2025, OpenAI <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/openai-plans-100m-ai-companions\">announced<\/a> the acquisition of a startup led by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, which focuses on creating AI devices. At the same time, Sam Altman gave employees a preliminary overview of the gadget he is developing with Ive, sharing plans to release 100 million &#8220;AI companions.&#8221; These are expected to become part of daily life, the entrepreneur hopes.<\/p>\n<p>The new product is designed to fully understand the user&#8217;s environment and life. It is unobtrusive, can fit in a pocket or sit on a desk, and &#8220;will become the third primary device after the MacBook Pro and iPhone.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This will not be a phone, glasses, or wearable device\u2014both Ive and Altman aim to wean people off screens. They refer to it as a &#8220;new design movement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The CEO of OpenAI emphasized that a whole &#8220;line of devices&#8221; is planned, comparing the concept to Apple&#8217;s ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>Lehane described the device as one of the company&#8217;s major innovations for 2026. It remains unclear whether it will be available for purchase that year.<\/p>\n<p>In January, an insider known as Smart Pikachu revealed that OpenAI plans to release an &#8220;AirPods replacement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hearing fresh detail on Openai &#8220;To-go&#8221; hardware project from last report. Now confirmed it is a special audio product to replace Airpod, internal code name is &#8220;Sweetpea&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>On manufacturing, Foxconn has been told to prepare for total 5 devices by Q4 2028. All not known but a home\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/svOCBuyapI\">https:\/\/t.co\/svOCBuyapI<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SFumFfRIeF\">pic.twitter.com\/SFumFfRIeF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u667a\u6167\u76ae\u5361\u4e18 Smart Pikachu (Weibo) (@zhihuipikachu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zhihuipikachu\/status\/2010745618734759946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The internal code name is Sweetpea. The case will be egg-shaped with two &#8220;capsules&#8221; to be placed behind the ear. The main processor is a smartphone chip. While the cost of materials and components will be high, the gadget itself will be powerful.<\/p>\n<p>According to the blogger, the presentation is scheduled for September 2026, with projected sales of 40-50 million units in the first year.<\/p>\n<p>Foxconn is expected to &#8220;prepare for the release of five devices&#8221; by the fourth quarter of 2028, added Smart Pikachu.<\/p>\n<p>In October 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/58b078be-e0ab-492f-9dbf-c2fe67298dd3\">FT<\/a> reported that OpenAI was working on a screenless device the size of a palm, which &#8220;receives audio and visual signals and responds to user requests.&#8221; This might refer to a &#8220;smart&#8221; speaker.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other Plans for 2026<\/h2>\n<p>OpenAI&#8217;s CFO Sarah Friar <a href=\"https:\/\/openai.com\/index\/a-business-that-scales-with-the-value-of-intelligence\/\">shared<\/a> in a blog post that 2026 will be a year of &#8220;practical implementation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;The priority is to bridge the gap between what is currently possible with artificial intelligence and how people, companies, and countries use it in everyday life,&#8221; she stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The opportunities are vast and already available, especially in healthcare, science, and entrepreneurship, Friar added.<\/p>\n<p>The top executive outlined how OpenAI envisions monetizing its services while ensuring computational capacity. According to her, the lab&#8217;s revenues are directly tied to the availability of technical infrastructure.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-752feb62c17600a1-4114539935266700.webp\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-273648\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: OpenAI.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The AI startup&#8217;s computational capacity grew from 0.2 GW in 2023 to 1.9 GW in 2025. Annual revenue over the same period increased from $2 billion to over $20 billion.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;This is unprecedented growth. We firmly believe that more computational capacity would lead to faster adoption and monetization,&#8221; Friar emphasized.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The tech industry and OpenAI are under scrutiny due to the massive investments directed towards data centers and their power supply. Skeptics argue that a bubble is forming, as despite high revenues, Altman&#8217;s startup <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/leaked-documents-reveal-openais-financial-standing\">remains unprofitable<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Ensuring computational capacity requires commitments made years in advance, and growth does not occur in a perfectly straight line,&#8221; Friar added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>She stated that OpenAI&#8217;s business model must scale alongside its products.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the Subject of Scaling<\/h2>\n<p>On January 16, OpenAI announced that it would begin testing ads in the free ChatGPT tier and the low-cost <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/openai-expands-chatgpt-go-subscription-to-16-asian-countries\">Go<\/a> tier in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In the coming weeks, we plan to start testing ads in ChatGPT free and Go tiers.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re sharing our principles early on how we\u2019ll approach ads\u2013guided by putting user trust and transparency first as we work to make AI accessible to everyone.<\/p>\n<p>What matters most:<br \/>\u2014 Responses in\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3UQJsdriYR\">pic.twitter.com\/3UQJsdriYR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 OpenAI (@OpenAI) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OpenAI\/status\/2012223373489614951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The company assured:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>responses will not be influenced by commercial content;<\/li>\n<li>ads will always be placed separately and clearly labeled;<\/li>\n<li>conversations will not be accessible to advertisers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There will be no ads in the Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans.<\/p>\n<p>Altman noted that he would strive to make paid messages useful.<\/p>\n<p>Back in January, billionaire Elon Musk <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/elon-musk-seeks-134-million-from-openai-and-microsoft\">demanded<\/a> that OpenAI and Microsoft pay $134 billion in &#8220;unlawful profits&#8221; that the AI startup gained thanks to his early support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OpenAI is &#8220;on track&#8221; to unveil its first device in the latter half of 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"OpenAI plans to unveil its first device in late 2026 and introduce ads in ChatGPT.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[438,1201,1190],"class_list":["post-93318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-chatbots","tag-openai"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"247","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"OpenAI plans to unveil its first device in late 2026 and introduce ads in ChatGPT.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93320,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93318\/revisions\/93320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}