Overview
- Anthropic aired Super Bowl commercials depicting chat-style interruptions with product pitches and closing with the line, “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”
- OpenAI confirmed a U.S. test of advertising in free and lower‑cost ChatGPT tiers, saying placements will be clearly labeled with opt‑outs for targeting and exclusions for sensitive topics.
- CEO Sam Altman called Anthropic’s portrayal “deceptive,” arguing OpenAI would not run intrusive ads that alter responses and insisting the goal is to help subsidize broad free access.
- OpenAI ran its own Super Bowl spot highlighting builders and its Codex coding product, avoiding direct mention of Anthropic’s critique.
- The face‑off underscores financial pressure on both unprofitable labs vying for users and enterprise deals, with Super Bowl airtime costing roughly $8 million per 30 seconds and ad tests showing mixed to negative consumer reactions to both brands’ spots.