---
title: "Evicted: OpenAI Boots Adobe Out of ChatGPT While Its Own Kingdom Shrinks"
description: "OpenAI told ad partners, Adobe among them, that they can no longer run ChatGPT ads for image or audio products. The eviction notice arrived the same week its share slipped below half."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Applications"
published: 2026-09-10T01:49:03.000Z
modified: 2026-09-16T16:29:06.582Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/evicted-openai-boots-adobe-out-of-chatgpt-while-its-own-kingdom-shrinks
language: en
keywords: "Platforms, OpenAI, Adobe, Advertising"
---

# Evicted: OpenAI Boots Adobe Out of ChatGPT While Its Own Kingdom Shrinks

> OpenAI told ad partners, Adobe among them, that they can no longer run ChatGPT ads for image or audio products. The eviction notice arrived the same week its share slipped below half.

Adobe got a call this week it did not enjoy. OpenAI has told advertising partners, Adobe among them, that they can no longer run ChatGPT ads for products that generate images or audio.[1] Adobe, which sells Firefly and now competes with its own landlord's models, was blindsided.

The numbers behind the eviction notice are the real story.

ChatGPT has 1.1 billion monthly users, still first, still 1.6 times Gemini's 662 million.[7] But **ChatGPT's share fell below 50% for the first time**, at 46.4% in May, against Gemini's 27.7% and Claude's 10.3%.[6]

*Chart: Bar chart of ChatGPT's and Gemini's monthly active users*

*ChatGPT still leads on raw reach, 1.6 times Gemini's user base.[7]*

*Chart: Bar chart of AI assistant market share in May 2026*

*Assistant market share, May 2026 (Sensor Tower). ChatGPT slips below half for the first time.*

## A young storefront, already crowded

The storefront is young. Ads reached the free and $8 Go tiers in February.[2] By May, 17% of daily users saw them, and software was the top ad category[7], which is exactly the shelf Adobe just lost. OpenAI needs the money, having given investors aggressive revenue projections[1], while state attorneys general circle[9].

## The skepticism is not fringe

The skepticism is not fringe. Google DeepMind's chief said he was surprised at how fast OpenAI rushed ads into chat.[10] Microsoft's Satya Nadella warned that companies betting everything on one AI provider may not survive.[11] Sam Altman called Anthropic's Super Bowl mockery of chatbot ads dishonest and Anthropic itself an authoritarian company[4], and the week closed with an Anthropic researcher resigning over the race to self-improving AI.[12]

## What Adobe actually lost

Adobe did not need the cash. It booked $23.8 billion last fiscal year.[8] It needed the shelf.

Every app store gates its own shelves, and this one will too.

## Takeaway

OpenAI cut off a $23.8-billion-revenue tenant, Adobe, from its ad shelf the same week its own ChatGPT share fell under 50% for the first time and a rival lab's safety researcher quit over the pace of the race. Every app-store gatekeeper eventually turns on its biggest tenants; OpenAI just proved it will too, at the exact moment its own position looks less commanding than the raw user count suggests. Watch which partners it re-admits once the ad business needs the volume more than it needs the margin.

## Sources

1. [The Information, Sep 9 2026 (ad restrictions; Adobe blindsided; investor projections).](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-cuts-adobe-others-advertising-competing-ai-products-chatgpt)
2. TechCrunch, Feb 9 2026 (US ad rollout, Free and Go tiers).
3. TechCrunch, Jan 16 2026 (targeted ads).
4. TechCrunch, Feb 4 2026 (Altman vs Anthropic Super Bowl ads).
5. TechCrunch, Dec 2 2025 (ad-like suggestions backlash).
6. [TechCrunch, Jun 16 2026 (Sensor Tower share data).](https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/16/chatgpts-market-share-slips-below-50-for-first-time/)
7. [Sensor Tower State of AI Report 2026 (primary data).](https://sensortower.com/blog/state-of-ai-2026)
8. Adobe FY2025 financials via StockAnalysis (revenue $23.8B, TTM $25.2B).
9. TechCrunch (state AG investigation headline).
10. TechCrunch (DeepMind CEO on OpenAI ads).
11. TechCrunch (Nadella single-provider warning).
12. X: Jason Calacanis repost of Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon's resignation, Sep 2026.
13. X: Chamath Palihapitiya quoting Bill Gurley on AI sentiment, Sep 9 2026.


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Evicted: OpenAI Boots Adobe Out of ChatGPT While Its Own Kingdom Shrinks — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/evicted-openai-boots-adobe-out-of-chatgpt-while-its-own-kingdom-shrinks