AI startup Anthropic has said it will not introduce advertising into its chatbot Claude, using a Super Bowl ad campaign to implicitly criticise OpenAI’s decision to roll out ads on ChatGPT.
“Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude,” Anthropic declared in the commercials, which aired during the Super Bowl. The campaign followed OpenAI’s move to introduce advertisements on ChatGPT in January 2026 as a pilot for US users.
Without naming OpenAI directly, Anthropic’s ads depict people asking everyday questions to real humans, who respond in a style resembling AI assistants — including a reassuring and emotionally attuned tone commonly associated with tools like ChatGPT. One of the ads, titled Betrayal, is part of a series that also includes Violation, Deception, and Treachery, all exploring the risks of commercial influence in AI conversations.
OpenAI responded by pushing back against Anthropic’s portrayal. Acknowledging that the ads were humorous, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “We would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid, and we know our users would reject that.”
Altman’s remarks come after he had earlier expressed scepticism about advertising as a revenue model. In October 2024, he said, “I kind of think of ads as like a last resort for us as a business model.” However, OpenAI introduced ads to ChatGPT in January 2026, arguing that advertising would help keep the platform free and accessible.
Explaining the decision, Altman said, “We believe access creates agency. More Texans use ChatGPT for free than the total people who use Claude in the US, so we have a differently shaped problem than they do.” According to Search Engine Land, ads on ChatGPT are priced at about $60 per 1,000 impressions.
Anthropic, meanwhile, said conversational AI is fundamentally unsuited for advertising. It argued that when a user shares sensitive information — such as difficulty sleeping — an ad-supported assistant might be tempted to introduce commercial suggestions, blurring the line between neutral help and sales.
“Conversational interactions often reveal more than traditional search queries,” the company said, warning that such openness makes users vulnerable to subtle influence. “This openness is part of what makes conversations with AI valuable, but it’s also what makes them susceptible to influence in ways that other digital products are not.”
Reaffirming its position, Anthropic said, “Claude will remain ad-free. Our users won’t see ‘sponsored’ links adjacent to their conversations with Claude, nor will Claude’s responses be influenced by advertisers or include third-party product placements our users did not ask for.”
Instead of advertising, the company said it will continue with a freemium model, focusing on paid subscriptions, enterprise contracts, and developer services.
