Anthropic pledges Claude will remain ad-free as OpenAI brings ads to ChatGPT

Anthropic Pinky Promises It Won't Add Ads to Claude

In the latest chapter of Anthropic's "We're not like the other guys" campaign, the AI company is pledging that it won't introduce advertisements into conversations with its chatbot, Claude. And it's spending big on Super Bowl ads to make sure you know it. Anthropic's announcement and ads take a clear shot at competitor OpenAI. The ChatGPT maker said a few weeks ago that it would begin testing ads in its products. Those ads will be "clearly marked" as sponsored posts, the company said, and ads wouldn't be served around sensitive or regulated topics, like mental health and politics. The news was a stark reversal from previous statements -- Altman called ads a "last resort" in 2024 -- though it wasn't entirely unexpected given the general chaos of the AI industry's financing. For a long time, AI startups operated at a loss, spending billions from venture capitalists and others to focus on building their chatbots without making money. OpenAI and many others now have a complex web of circular deals to keep the lights on, but newer advanced models require more compute, better chips and generally more maintenance and money to keep up. Anthropic certainly isn't immune to these issues; the company is the the process of securing a new $10 billion funding deal. That's why AI companies are trying to find new revenue sources. Hence the ads. The concern with including ads in chatbots (beyond general irritation) is that it will push products at the expense of actually helping users. Anthropic wrote, "Users shouldn't have to second-guess whether an AI is genuinely helping them or subtly steering the conversation towards something monetizable." There's also the demonstrated risk that tech companies will prioritize advertising metrics and revenue over users' general well-being. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Anthropic, for its part, has been very outspoken about the risks posed by AI technology, so it's not surprising to hear the company weigh in on this issue. CEO Dario Amodei has spoken at length about the potential threat AI systems may have on our humanity. But we have a wealth of examples to draw on -- streaming services, smart TVs and now chatbots -- of tech companies that tried and eventually failed to resist the allure of advertiser money. We can never say never. Anthropic didn't.

Anthropic says 'Claude will remain ad-free,' unlike ChatGPT

That said, Anthropic does make sure to leave the door open for a reversal: "Should we need to revisit this approach, we'll be transparent about our reasons for doing so." An about-face a few years down the line might look hypocritical in the light of the new Super Bowl ad the company is releasing to highlight its announcement. It's one of four commercials released so far on YouTube along the same theme, with humanized AIs dropping adverts in the middle of their advice. The Wall Street Journal reports that a shorter 30-second version of this spot will air during the game on Sunday, with a separate minute-long commercial featuring an ad-enabled AI therapist during the pregame show.

Anthropic says no to ads on Claude chatbot, weeks after OpenAI made move to test them

In a blog post, Anthropic said that Claude users will not see ads or sponsored links near their conversations, and the chatbot's answers will not be influenced by third-party product placements. The personal nature of users' conversations with Claude would make ads feel "incongruous" and "in many cases, inappropriate," the company said. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, including its CEO, Dario Amodei. The company is best known for developing a family of AI models called Claude, and its AI coding tool Claude Code has exploded in popularity in recent months. "Our business model is straightforward: we generate revenue through enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions, and we reinvest that revenue into improving Claude for our users," Anthropic said in the blog post. "This is a choice with tradeoffs, and we respect that other AI companies might reasonably reach different conclusions."

Anthropic says it won't bring ads to Claude, unlike rival ChatGPT

Anthropic has announced that its chatbot Claude will remain ad-free. This is in direct contrast to rival company OpenAI, which recently brought ads to ChatGPT for many users. The company says that "including ads in conversations with Claude would be incompatible" with the chatbot becoming a "genuinely helpful assistant for work and for deep thinking." The reasoning here is rather simple. People tend to with chatbots, for better , and getting ads based on that stuff would be creepy. Imagine asking for mental health advice and getting an ad for St. John's wort or something. Anthropic notes that other conversations "involve complex software engineering tasks, deep work or thinking through difficult problems. The appearance of ads in these contexts would feel incongruous -- and, in many cases, inappropriate." The company said that integrating advertising would "work against" the , which counts "being generally helpful" as a core principle. "Introducing advertising incentives at this stage would add another level of complexity. Our understanding of how models translate the goals we set them into specific behaviors is still developing; an ad-based system could therefore have unpredictable results," it writes in a blog post. There are some real world concerns here. AI companies and the returns . Ads are an easy way to recoup some of that investment, which is likely why OpenAI went that route. Engadget reached out to Anthropic to inquire about any kind of forthcoming financial hurdles that could force it to change course. A representative pointed to today's blog post and said it's "all the information we have to share at this time." We do know that Anthropic remains committed to commerce-based agentic AI. It said it will "continue to build features that enable our users to find, compare or buy products, connect with businesses and more."

Anthropic pokes fun at ads in ChatGPT with Superbowl ad [Video] - 9to5Mac

OpenAI recently revealed that we will soon see ads in ChatGPT conversations, and Anthropic is having some fun with this. It will reportedly run an ad during Sunday's Super Bowl (below) in which ChatGPT isn't named but is very clearly the target ... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman once said that embedding ads into ChatGPT conversations would be "a last resort," but more recently confirmed that they are in fact on the way - though will not appear in Siri queries which fallback to ChatGPT. Anthropic has announced today that it will not embed ads in conversations with Claude. Including ads in conversations with Claude would be incompatible with what we want Claude to be: a genuinely helpful assistant for work and for deep thinking. We want Claude to act unambiguously in our users' interests. So we've made a choice: 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. The company says there are several dangers with including ads in chatbot conversations, including potential bias and incentivizing chatbots to keep users in conversations for longer periods. Consider a concrete example. A user mentions they're having trouble sleeping. An assistant without advertising incentives would explore the various potential causes -- stress, environment, habits, and so on -- based on what might be most insightful to the user. An ad-supported assistant has an additional consideration: whether the conversation presents an opportunity to make a transaction [...] Such ads would also introduce an incentive to optimize for engagement -- for the amount of time people spend using Claude and how often they return. These metrics aren't necessarily aligned with being genuinely helpful. The most useful AI interaction might be a short one, or one that resolves the user's request without prompting further conversation. The company has today posted a one-minute video to its YouTube channel poking fun at the idea of ads in chatbots. The Wall Street Journal reports that a 30-second version of this ad will be run during Sunday's Super Bowl.

Anthropic pledges ad-free Claude, with a Super Bowl shot at ChatGPT

Why it matters: This could become the key differentiator for AI brands: those that become ad platforms and those that don't. What they're saying: "There are many good places for advertising. A conversation with Claude is not one of them," an Anthropic blog post about the ad-free pledge notes. Driving the news: The post is the serious side of Anthropic's position; the Super Bowl ad is the pitch to consumers. * It features a man talking to an AI-generated therapist about his communication issues with his mom. * After some bland advice, the "therapist" pitches a paid dating app to connect with older women. Between the lines: It's a swipe at OpenAI, which is offering chatbot ads to dozens of advertisers already. * It's also a line in the sand for Anthropic, which is now promising the world it will remain ad-free, with no sponsored links or third-party placements influencing responses, a policy it frames as protecting usefulness and trust. Zoom out: This highlights a growing business model divide in generative AI: some companies are embracing ads as a revenue stream, while others promise a cleaner, paid experience. * The question is how the LLMs will make money if they don't offer advertising, given how expensive it is to build and maintain AI infrastructure. * So far, Anthropic's approach is to double down on enterprise revenue through the launch of Claude Code and Cowork, which have already brought in at least $1 billion in revenue, according to the company. * "Our business model is straightforward: we generate revenue through enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions," Anthropic noted in the blog, which was posted Wednesday. What we're watching: How AI features in this weekend's big game. * The category has become a Super Bowl battleground, with major players spending millions on ad inventory to boost brand awareness and fend off rivals. The bottom line: For consumers and businesses alike, the choice between ad-supported AI and ad-free alternatives may shape usage patterns and loyalty in the coming years -- just as data privacy and safety did in the early days of social platforms.

Anthropic Super Bowl LX ads mock ChatGPT

In a series of Super Bowl LX ads released today, AI company Anthropic is taking shots at OpenAI and ChatGPT, its biggest rival. As you may have heard, OpenAI is bringing advertisements to users' ChatGPT conversations, including in some paid plans. As recently as June 2025, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described ads in ChatGPT as a "last resort." But as the latest ChatGPT models fail to deliver the big leaps in performance many users were expecting, and as OpenAI faces fierce competition from Google, OpenAI is reportedly in "code red" mode. Hence, advertisements in ChatGPT. Now, Anthropic is rubbing salt in the wound. Anthropic uploaded four new videos to YouTube, which all follow a similar format. The videos have dramatic-sounding titles like "Betrayal" and "Deception." Per the Wall Street Journal, the ads were made for Super Bowl LX to promote the company's AI chatbot Claude. In one video, a forlorn young man asks his therapist how he can communicate better with his mom. His therapist's answer sounds helpful at first, until she takes a hard pivot into sales mode. "Or, if the relationship can't be fixed, find emotional connection with other older women on Golden Encounters, the mature dating site that connects sensitive cubs with roaring cougars," the therapist says. "Would you like me to create your profile?" In another, a scrawny 23-year-old asks for help building a workout plan, only for his personal trainer to pitch him on supportive insoles for "short kings." All of the videos end with the same tagline: "Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude." You get the idea.

Super Bowl commercial sees Anthropic mocks OpenAI for bringing ads to...

Anthropic is taking a jab at rival OpenAI in its first-ever Super Bowl commercial this year - blasting the company for introducing ads to ChatGPT and vowing not to do the same with its own bot, Claude. In the 30-second spot, a guy struggling to complete a pull-up in a park asks a muscular man for advice. Much like an AI chatbot, the man starts to spit out a robotic answer, according to a video clip posted by The Wall Street Journal. "That is a clear and achievable goal," the brawny man says. "But confidence isn't just built in the gym. Try stepboost max, the insoles that add one vertical inch of height and help short kings stand tall. Use code 'HeightMaxing10' for big discounts." Then the message, "Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude" flashes across the screen. Though OpenAI is not mentioned by name, the spot is a clear dig at the company, which earlier this year announced it would start rolling out ads to ChatGPT users based on their conversations. That could open the door to highly-personalized ads, like links to hotels and flights after a user asks the chatbot about planning a vacation - something Anthropic has vowed to avoid. "Users shouldn't have to second-guess whether an AI is genuinely helping them or subtly steering the conversation towards something monetizable," Anthropic wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. It added that advertising, once introduced to a platform, tends to expand over time and become integrated into revenue targets and product development. Chatbot ads are only expected to account for a small chunk of the roughly $2 billion brands are expected to spend on AI search-related promos this year, according to eMarketer. But the market for chatbot ads is predicted to over $25 billion by 2029. Anthropic has another ad that's set to air before the Super Bowl. In it, a man goes to therapy for help communicating with his mother. The therapist advises him to focus on shared activities, like a nature walk - or, she suggests, he could seek out emotional connections with other mature women on "Golden Encounters," a dating site "that connects sensitive cubs with roaring cougars." Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI execs including Dario Amodei, is seeking to counter fears that AI will chip away at human purpose and intelligence - adopting the motto "Keep Thinking" and positioning Claude as a helper for complex problems. After starting promos for the chatbot in September, the Super Bowl ad marks a major boost in Anthropic's promo efforts. "We thought there was something fun about that," Andrew Stirk, Anthropic's head of brand marketing, told The Journal. "There's a time and place for ads and we don't believe your conversations with AI should be one of them." Thirty seconds of air time during the Super Bowl costs more than $8 million this year, not counting the tens of millions typically spent to make the ads themselves. Anthropic is not considered as much of a name brand as OpenAI. But it's beating the ChatGPT maker in winning over business customers - and now hopes to appeal to users as the more principled option. Amodei, Anthropic's president and co-founder, said it would be "exploitative" to introduce ads into the chatbot because users share personal and medical information - even if that decision means the company might miss out on some revenue. OpenAI previously warned that the use of ads in chatbots could eat away at user trust. The company has said ads will not influence ChatGPT's answers and conversations will not be shared with advertisers. All advertisements will be clearly labeled and shown at the bottom of the screen, and users can opt out of ad personalization, according to OpenAI. Ads will not be shown to users under 18, or populate in conversations around sensitive topics like politics and mental health, the company added.

Anthropic rejects advertising in Claude, breaking with OpenAI's strategy

Anthropic announced on Wednesday that its artificial intelligence assistant Claude will remain entirely ad-free, taking a firm stance as OpenAI prepares to test the integration of ads in ChatGPT. The start-up, founded by former OpenAI researchers, said it wants to preserve the integrity of interactions with users, arguing that introducing sponsored links into a personal conversational space would be "inappropriate" and "out of place". Unlike OpenAI, which is exploring new monetization models to support its sizable financial commitments, including infrastructure contracts exceeding $1,400bn in 2025, Anthropic is relying exclusively on paid subscriptions and enterprise contracts to fund Claude's development. The strategy entails accepted trade-offs, the company acknowledged, while saying it aims to stand apart through transparency and the neutrality of the content generated. To illustrate this strategic choice, Anthropic launched its first advertising campaign for the Super Bowl. Two television spots, aired before and during the game, carry an unambiguous message: "Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude." The positioning marks a break with the dominant business models in tech, which rely heavily on digital advertising, as seen at Google or Meta. Anthropic is seeking to differentiate itself in a rapidly taking shape generative AI market, where approaches to funding and the user experience are becoming a key criterion for distinction.