ChatGPT now knows what you do on other websites via ad collector
The gist
A blog post says OpenAI's ad collector sets a cookie tying your ChatGPT account to sites you visit.
The mechanism is standard adtech, but running it inside an AI chat product is what readers are weighing.
How it unfolded
- Sep 14, 2026404 Media reported that humans read ChatGPT users' prompts to improve OpenAI's models, and that those chats can include sensitive personal information, based on leaked internal documents and real prompts.
- Sep 16, 2026OpenAI began testing advertising inside ChatGPT at the start of 2026, bringing paid messages into conversations.
- Sep 16, 2026A report stated 96.37% of advertisers showing ads on AI platforms are not cited in the organic answer directly above their ad.