OpenAI AI Updates: September 1, 2026

1. ChatGPT Ads Hit $1 Billion Annualized Run Rate and Expand to Over 40 Countries

OpenAI said its advertising business reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in less than 200 days since launch, with tens of thousands of advertisers now buying placements. Ads appear within model responses for ChatGPT Go subscribers and free tier users, and OpenAI is opening self-serve buying through Ads Manager across India, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The company said it is expanding ads in ChatGPT to more than 40 new countries. OpenAI framed advertising as one pillar of a diversified model alongside subscriptions, enterprise, and usage-based APIs that helps keep a free tier available to more than 1 billion weekly active users. Source

2. Codex CLI 0.152.0 Adds Vim Search and Bedrock Auth Improvements

OpenAI shipped Codex CLI 0.152.0, extending Vim mode to support / and ? searches within drafts, with highlighted matches and repeat navigation using n and N. The release also adds rate-limit banners that surface actionable options and introduces credential-refresh progress indicators for Amazon Bedrock authentication. The update continues the rapid iteration on the Codex command-line workflow following the 0.151.0 release. Source

3. Polimill Builds Japan’s Next-Generation Public AI Infrastructure

OpenAI highlighted how Polimill uses its GPT models and Codex to help Japanese municipalities search and apply administrative knowledge while accelerating in-house development. The work fits into a broader push to bring generative AI into Japan’s public sector under strict security and reliability standards. It underscores OpenAI’s continued expansion into government and civic use cases in one of its key international markets. Source