OpenAI has taken issue with Anthropic's new Super Bowl TV ads, which mock the idea of including ads in AI chatbot conversations. According to a lengthy post on X by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Chief Marketing Officer Kate Rouch, the ads are "clearly dishonest" and an example of "authoritarian doublespeak".
Anthropic has released four commercials as part of its campaign called "A Time and a Place", each featuring a single word splashed across the screen. The ads depict scenarios where a person asks for advice from a human stand-in for an AI chatbot, only to get blindsided by a product pitch.
OpenAI's concerns stem from their own plans to include ads in lower-cost tiers of their ChatGPT chatbot, which will be labeled at the bottom of conversational responses. However, Anthropic has taken a different approach, releasing ads that appear to criticize theoretical deceptive ads but are actually just promoting their own product.
Altman accused Anthropic of overreach and control, stating that they want to "control what people do with AI" by blocking companies from using their coding product if they don't like them. He also expressed concern about the risks of powerful AI being tightly controlled in small rooms.
Kate Rouch responded to Altman's post, calling the ads "funny" before pivoting to criticize Anthropic's approach, stating that it sounds too much like "authoritarian control". However, she did acknowledge that Anthropic has taken a different approach than OpenAI and may have valid concerns about their methods.
Greg Brockman, OpenAI President, pointed out that Anthropic's blog post makes it seem like they are keeping the option open to sell users' attention or data to advertisers. He called on Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO, directly to commit to never doing so.
The dispute highlights the tension between companies vying for control and access in the rapidly growing AI market. As Ars previously reported, OpenAI has struck over $1.4 trillion in infrastructure deals in 2025 and expects to burn roughly $9 billion this year while generating about $13 billion in revenue. Anthropic is also not yet profitable but relies on enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions rather than advertising.
The financial backdrop of the companies' plans explains some of the tension over ads in chatbots, with OpenAI's own blog post revealing that they plan to test ads at the bottom of answers in ChatGPT when there's a relevant sponsored product or service based on the user's conversation. However, Anthropic has taken a different approach, releasing ads that are perceived as misleading and deceptive.
Anthropic has released four commercials as part of its campaign called "A Time and a Place", each featuring a single word splashed across the screen. The ads depict scenarios where a person asks for advice from a human stand-in for an AI chatbot, only to get blindsided by a product pitch.
OpenAI's concerns stem from their own plans to include ads in lower-cost tiers of their ChatGPT chatbot, which will be labeled at the bottom of conversational responses. However, Anthropic has taken a different approach, releasing ads that appear to criticize theoretical deceptive ads but are actually just promoting their own product.
Altman accused Anthropic of overreach and control, stating that they want to "control what people do with AI" by blocking companies from using their coding product if they don't like them. He also expressed concern about the risks of powerful AI being tightly controlled in small rooms.
Kate Rouch responded to Altman's post, calling the ads "funny" before pivoting to criticize Anthropic's approach, stating that it sounds too much like "authoritarian control". However, she did acknowledge that Anthropic has taken a different approach than OpenAI and may have valid concerns about their methods.
Greg Brockman, OpenAI President, pointed out that Anthropic's blog post makes it seem like they are keeping the option open to sell users' attention or data to advertisers. He called on Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO, directly to commit to never doing so.
The dispute highlights the tension between companies vying for control and access in the rapidly growing AI market. As Ars previously reported, OpenAI has struck over $1.4 trillion in infrastructure deals in 2025 and expects to burn roughly $9 billion this year while generating about $13 billion in revenue. Anthropic is also not yet profitable but relies on enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions rather than advertising.
The financial backdrop of the companies' plans explains some of the tension over ads in chatbots, with OpenAI's own blog post revealing that they plan to test ads at the bottom of answers in ChatGPT when there's a relevant sponsored product or service based on the user's conversation. However, Anthropic has taken a different approach, releasing ads that are perceived as misleading and deceptive.
anthropic is just trying to be funny and ironic with their ads, i get why openai would feel left out but like come on 
they cant control what other people do with ai, thats not anthropics job. and lets be real, if anthropic is making money from enterprise contracts and subs, then that's all good 
openai just needs to step up their game and stop getting salty about it 
I think both sides are being kinda dramatic here... OpenAI is trying to make money from their chatbot by adding ads, but Anthropic is just being extra cautious about how they want to use AI for good 
. It's like, can't we all just get along and figure out the best way to do this thing? 
It's like, we need to make sure that these tech giants aren't using their power to manipulate us into doing things we don't want to do 
.
like what even is the goal here? OpenAI just wants to make money from their chatbot andAnthropic's all about promoting their product without being transparent 
meanwhile Greg Brockman is straight up calling out Anthropic for trying to control people with AI 
. Can't we have a conversation without being sold something? 
... OpenAI is just concerned about transparency and users being aware of ads in their chatbot, while Anthropic is trying to be funny with their ads. Can't we all just get along? 
Let's focus on the bigger picture - AI is going to change our lives in ways we can't even imagine right now, so it's cool that companies are having these conversations about how to use this powerful tech responsibly 
. And what if Anthropic does end up selling users' data to advertisers? That would be a total no-go 
. Can't we just have some transparency and honesty in our AI tech instead of playing games like this? 
And OpenAI is like "hold up, that's not how we do things"! It's all about the control and the money, innit? 
they r like literally trying to sell ads in their ai chatbot & its soooo whack 
lets hope openai gets to keep their plans 2 test ads at the bottom of answers tho 
. And Greg Brockman calling out Dario Amodei like he's some kind of AI villain 
