Some do now. Since December 16, 2025, Meta has used people’s conversations with Meta AI to personalize the ads and content they see across Facebook, Instagram and its other apps. OpenAI began testing ads in the free version of ChatGPT in the US in early 2026. Other providers have different policies, and they change often. The only way to be certain your chats can’t shape your ads is to use an AI that never sends them anywhere.
Here’s what each company has said, how chat-based ad targeting differs from ordinary ads, and the settings that limit it.
What does Meta do with Meta AI chats? #
Meta announced in October 2025 that, from December 16, 2025, it would start using interactions with Meta AI as a signal for personalizing content and ads, much like it already uses likes and follows. Its own example: if you chat with Meta AI about hiking, you may start seeing hiking groups and ads for hiking boots (Meta).
Key points from Meta’s announcement:
- It applies in most regions where Meta rolled it out.
- Meta says it doesn’t use conversations about religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs or trade union membership to show ads.
- It only links activity across apps you’ve connected in Accounts Center.
- You can adjust what you see with Ads Preferences and feed controls.
What Meta didn’t offer is a simple switch to keep your Meta AI chats out of ad personalization while still using Meta AI.
What about ChatGPT? #
On January 17, 2026, OpenAI announced it would start testing ads in the free version of ChatGPT for logged-in adult users in the US, and ads were appearing by March 2026. Paid tiers and other countries follow their own timelines, so check OpenAI’s current ad policy for which plans show ads, how ads are chosen, and what controls you have.
What about Gemini and Claude? #
Policies differ by company and change often, so read the advertising section of each provider’s privacy policy rather than relying on a summary. Also check whether chats are used for training, which is a separate setting from ads. Google, for example, says Gemini activity can be used to improve its services, including training generative AI models, unless you turn off Keep Activity (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub).
How is chat-based targeting different from normal ads? #
| Type of ad | What it’s based on | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Contextual | What’s on the screen right now | A running-shoe ad next to an article about marathons |
| Behavioral | Your activity over time: pages, likes, purchases | Ads for a sofa you looked at last week |
| Cross-app tracking | Your activity in other apps and sites, linked by an ad ID | An ad in a game for something you browsed in a shopping app |
| Chat-based | What you told an AI assistant | Ads related to a topic you discussed with Meta AI |
Chat-based targeting feels different because people tell AI assistants things they’d never type into a search box: worries, relationship problems, money trouble, health questions. Even with sensitive categories excluded, a conversation reveals a lot.
How do you limit ad tracking on your phone? #
iPhone #
- Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking. Turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. Apps then can’t use your device’s advertising identifier to follow you across other companies’ apps.
- When an app asks to track you, tap Ask App Not to Track.
- In Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising, turn off Personalized Ads for ads in Apple’s own apps.
Android #
- Settings → Privacy → Ads (the exact path varies by phone). Tap Delete advertising ID so apps can’t use it to link your activity.
- In your Google Account, open My Ad Center and turn off personalized ads if you prefer.
Inside AI apps #
- In Meta’s apps, review Ads Preferences and avoid discussing personal topics with Meta AI.
- In ChatGPT, check the ad and personalization controls in Settings if you’re on a plan that shows ads.
- Turn off training settings too (see how to keep personal data out of AI chatbots). They’re separate from ad settings.
These steps limit cross-app tracking. They don’t stop a company from using what you tell its own assistant, within its own policies.
What about ad-supported local AI apps? #
Ads and privacy can coexist when the ads can’t see the conversation. In an app that runs the model on your phone, your chats never reach a server, so there’s nothing for an ad network to read. What the ad network does see is the usual app-ad data: device type, rough location from your IP address, and, if you allow tracking, an advertising ID.
Personal LLM works this way, and it’s upfront about it. The free app shows Google AdMob ads: a small banner in chat and an occasional full-screen ad when you open a new chat or while a model downloads, never in the middle of an answer. On iOS, it asks for App Tracking Transparency permission; decline, and the ads are non-personalized. AdMob may collect device information to serve ads, as the privacy policy explains. Your chats, photos and prompts never leave the phone, so they can’t be used to pick an ad. Offline, no ads load at all, and a one-time Remove Ads purchase turns them off for good. See how to tell if an AI app is really private for how to check any app’s claims.
Frequently asked questions #
Does Meta AI use my chats for ads? #
Yes. Since December 16, 2025, Meta uses interactions with Meta AI to personalize content and ads in most regions, excluding sensitive topics such as health, religion, politics and sexual orientation. You can adjust what you see in Ads Preferences.
Does ChatGPT have ads? #
OpenAI began testing ads in the free version of ChatGPT for logged-in adult users in the US in early 2026. Check OpenAI’s current policy for which plans and countries are included and how ads are selected.
Can I stop AI chatbots from targeting me with ads? #
You can limit it: decline cross-app tracking on iOS, delete your advertising ID on Android, adjust ad preferences in each service, and avoid sharing personal topics with ad-supported assistants. Using an AI that runs on your phone keeps your chats out of ad targeting entirely.
Do free AI apps sell my data? #
Some share data with advertisers or analytics companies, and the store privacy label will list what’s collected and whether it’s used for tracking. Read the App Store privacy details or the Google Play Data safety section before installing.