Former OpenAI Researcher Quits Over Ads on ChatGPT

Zoë Hitzig cites concerns about user privacy and manipulation in OpenAI's ad strategy

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Zoë Hitzig, a former researcher at OpenAI, has resigned from the company after two years, citing concerns over the introduction of ads on the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT. Hitzig argues that ads built on the 'archive of human candor' generated by ChatGPT users could lead to manipulation of users in ways that are not well understood. She believes OpenAI is building an 'economic engine' that will create incentives to override its own principles around user privacy and data use.

Why it matters

The introduction of ads on ChatGPT raises important questions about the ethics of monetizing an AI system that has access to users' most private thoughts and concerns. Hitzig's resignation highlights the tension between making transformative AI technology broadly accessible and protecting user privacy and autonomy.

The details

Hitzig joined OpenAI to help shape how AI models were built and priced, and to guide early safety policies. However, she now believes the company has 'stopped asking the questions' she had joined to help answer. While Hitzig does not believe ads are inherently unethical, she is worried about OpenAI's strategy, which could lead to the exploitation of users' deepest fears and desires to sell them products. She cites the example of Facebook, where user privacy commitments eroded over time under pressure from an advertising model that rewarded engagement above all else.

  • On February 11, 2026, Zoë Hitzig published her resignation op-ed in The New York Times.

The players

Zoë Hitzig

A former researcher at OpenAI who resigned from the company after two years, citing concerns over the introduction of ads on ChatGPT.

OpenAI

An artificial intelligence research company that recently began testing ads on its popular ChatGPT AI chatbot.

The New York Times

The publication that published Hitzig's op-ed about her resignation from OpenAI.

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What they’re saying

“I once believed I could help the people building A.I. get ahead of the problems it would create. This week confirmed my slow realization that OpenAI seems to have stopped asking the questions I'd joined to help answer.”

— Zoë Hitzig (The New York Times)

“Advertising built on that archive creates a potential for manipulating users in ways we don't have the tools to understand, let alone prevent.”

— Zoë Hitzig (The New York Times)

What’s next

Hitzig suggests several approaches that could help ensure access to powerful AI tools like ChatGPT remains broad while also protecting user privacy and autonomy, including explicit cross-subsidies, binding governance structures with independent oversight, and user data cooperatives.

The takeaway

Hitzig's resignation highlights the complex ethical challenges facing AI companies as they seek to monetize their technologies. Finding the right balance between accessibility and user protection will be crucial as these powerful AI systems become more prevalent in our lives.