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Voice AI Goes Mainstream in 2025
Human-like voice agents are moving from pilot to production. In Deepgram’s 2025 State of Voice AI Report, created with Opus Research, we surveyed 400 senior leaders across North America - many from $100M+ enterprises - to map what’s real and what’s next.
The data is clear:
97% already use voice technology; 84% plan to increase budgets this year.
80% still rely on traditional voice agents.
Only 21% are very satisfied.
Customer service tops the list of near-term wins, from task automation to order taking.
See where you stand against your peers, learn what separates leaders from laggards, and get practical guidance for deploying human-like agents in 2025.
ChatGPT's Ad Pivot: When $115 Billion in Cash Burn Forces a U-Turn
Remember when Sam Altman said ads were "uniquely unsettling" and a "last resort"? Well, the cash register has spoken.
OpenAI is introducing advertising to ChatGPT, and the evidence is sitting right there in the Android app code: references to "search ads," "bazaar content," and "search ads carousel." This isn't speculation anymore—it's infrastructure.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Here's why Altman changed his tune: OpenAI reported spending approximately $22 billion in 2025 against $13 billion in revenue—a cash burn rate of roughly 70 percent. Even more sobering, HSBC calculated that OpenAI won't be profitable by 2030, even if its consumer base comprises 44 percent of the world's adult population.
The infrastructure commitments are staggering: $250 billion with Microsoft, $38 billion with Amazon, and a $620 billion data-center rental bill through 2030. As one analyst bluntly put it: "Make no mistake, Sam Altman has to launch ads."
The Philosophical Backpedal
Watch Altman's evolution: In May 2024, he called advertising a "momentary industry." By December 2024, OpenAI was "open to exploring new revenue streams." By July 2025, he'd softened to "I'm not totally against it." Then November: "I expect it's something we'll try at some point."
His rationalization? ChatGPT ads will be different—showing the best recommendation first, taking a commission on purchases, with nothing influencing rankings. Whether that holds up under commercial pressure is the billion-dollar question.
What's Actually Coming
Internal documents forecast ChatGPT advertising generating $1 billion in 2026 and $25 billion by 2029. OpenAI hired Fidji Simo, who launched Facebook's News Feed ads, as CEO of Applications. They're recruiting a monetization chief and building their own full-stack ad platform.
The ads will likely appear naturally within ChatGPT's responses—sponsored recommendations woven into answers, buy-now buttons, product carousels. And yes, the AI knows everything about you unless you disable the memory feature.
The Trust Problem
Here's the tension: ChatGPT's entire value proposition rests on being your unbiased assistant. The moment ads enter, users will ask: "Is this the best answer, or the best answer that paid?"
Expect a launch for free users in 2026. Whether OpenAI can thread the needle between desperate revenue needs and user trust remains the defining question of ChatGPT's next chapter.