OpenAI ; Chart: Axios Visuals OpenAI released new data Friday showing people are using the consumer version of ChatGPT for more personal tasks and fewer work tasks. Why it matters: That shift toward personal use could bolster OpenAI's emerging ad business, even as it keeps pursuing lucrative business customers. State of play: OpenAI's usage data shows a steady decline in the amount of work-related messaging happening on consumer ChatGPT from July 2024 through December 2025. - The data comes from 100,000 "de-identified" conversations on free and paid consumer accounts, meaning OpenAI researchers looked at anonymized messages to understand broad themes. Friction point: Since ChatGPT's launch, evangelists who used free and paid consumer…
AI is concentrating stocks, bonds, private credit — and even the broader economy — around a single bet. Why it matters: Tech companies are projected to issue over $1 trillion in debt to fund their AI goals this year. Yet there's little evidence the technology can be monetized at a scale that justifies the bet . State of play: Hyperscalers — the AI data-center giants — could spend up to $700 billion from their balance sheets on AI this year, while issuing eye-popping debt to access even more capital, according to UBS. - The eight largest companies, all tech firms with AI ambitions, make up nearly half of the S&P 500. - More than half of invested venture-capital dollars went to AI firms in 2025, per PitchBook. - Private credit…
ChatGPT is testing ads for some U.S. users on both the free and Go subscription tiers, its most affordable offerings. Why it matters: It could be the beginning of the end of ad-free ChatGPT. What they're saying: "Our goal is for ads to support broader access to more powerful ChatGPT features while maintaining the trust people place in ChatGPT for important and personal tasks," an OpenAI spokesperson told Axios. - The company says ads will not influence ChatGPT's answers, which it says will remain focused on what is "most helpful." - If a user asks about recipe ideas, the answer may be followed by a grocery delivery service ad, for example. - Ads won't be shown to those who are predicted to be under 18, and are not eligible to appear…
Facebook's meteoric rise two decades ago offers OpenAI a rich but potentially treacherous playbook for the ChatGPT maker to defend and expand its lead in the consumer AI market. Why it matters: Facebook, now Meta, turned its billions of users' personal data into an advertising goldmine — and that road looks like OpenAI's most likely path as it seeks to fund its fabulously expensive operations. Driving the news: OpenAI will begin testing ads on ChatGPT this month, the company recently announced . - The initial wave of advertising clients will be charged premium rates, per the Information . - The ad push means "more people can benefit from our tools with fewer usage limits or without having to pay," OpenAI said in a blog post. It …
Russell Wayne Scales of Knoxville, Tennessee, filed the application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 11, just days after the Jan. 7 shooting, and listed the request for t-shirts, including graphic t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts.
AI:A Tennessee man named Russell Wayne Scales is attempting to profit from tragedy by filing a trademark application for the name "Renee Good" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Following a shooting on January 7, Scales filed the request just days later in an effort to monetize the name through the sale of various apparel, including graphic t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts.Open