Overview
- Anthropic bought high-priced Super Bowl airtime and released commercials with the tagline “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude,” depicting intrusive promotions as a cautionary scenario.
- OpenAI has confirmed tests of clearly labeled advertising in the free and low-cost ChatGPT tiers in the U.S., with opt-outs for targeting, exclusions for sensitive topics, and ad-free paid plans.
- Sam Altman publicly criticized Anthropic’s portrayal as misleading, saying OpenAI would not implement ads in the interruptive manner shown in the commercials.
- Ad-measurement firms reported mixed consumer reactions to both companies’ campaigns, despite the Super Bowl’s massive reach and average prices of about $8 million for 30 seconds.
- Both OpenAI and Anthropic remain unprofitable and are vying for consumers and enterprise clients, with OpenAI promoting its Codex product during the game as each seeks durable monetization and investor attention.