tech
February 10, 2026
Battle of the AI Brands: OpenAI and Anthropic's Ad War
Anthropic launched a series of ads during Super Bowl week, taking aim at OpenAI after the latter announced its intention to introduce ads in ChatGPT
TL;DR
- OpenAI intends to test and roll out ads in ChatGPT, stating they will be clearly labeled and separated from AI responses.
- Anthropic is against ads in its AI chatbot Claude and has launched commercials criticizing the concept, ending with the tagline 'Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.'
- OpenAI claims ads in ChatGPT will make AI more accessible, especially for those who cannot afford subscriptions.
- Anthropic argues that ads are disruptive and incompatible with Claude's purpose as a helpful assistant for deep thinking.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman criticized Anthropic's ads as deceptive, while Anthropic's co-founder stated the commercials were not targeted at specific competitors.
- Industry analysts have differing views, with some predicting user retention issues for ChatGPT with ads, while others believe users will accept ads as the price for free AI services.
- The ultimate impact on user retention for AI services with ads will depend on their execution and intrusiveness.
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