AI company Antropic is targeting rival OpenAI's ChatGPT advertising plans with an ad during the Super Bowl broadcast on February 9th.
The released 30-second commercial begins with a scene of someone seeking exercise advice in a park. The person responds mechanically, like a chatbot, before interjecting with a product promotion unrelated to the conversation. The ad concludes with the message: "The ads are coming from AI, but not from Claude."
OpenAI immediately responded. CEO Sam Altman criticized the ad, saying it distorted the truth and stressed that the company's products would not act in a way that would undermine user trust.
The current conflict stems from OpenAI's advertising testing plans. On January 16th, OpenAI announced it would test ads beneath responses among adult users in the US, both free and Go-tier. The company stated that the ads would be clearly visible, separate from the responses, and not influence the model's responses.
Antropic, on the other hand, has declared that it will keep Claude ad-free. The company explained that because conversations are personal, ads can feel awkward or inappropriate. Users won't see sponsored links next to conversations, and replies won't be swayed by third-party product placements.
The Super Bowl boasts the world's largest audience. Broadcasters have revealed that the average price for a 30-second ad is around $8 million, with some exceeding $10 million. This suggests a deliberate investment to establish credibility and brand awareness.
The advertising industry believes this spat could actually have the effect of broadening the profile of both services. However, given the public's continued distrust of AI, some argue that an overly harsh message could backfire.
Ultimately, the key issue is the balance between revenue models and user trust. Strategies to expand accessibility through advertising and strategies to reduce pressure to expand free users through subscriptions and corporate contracts are clashing. Even after the Super Bowl, competition in the AI market is likely to expand beyond product performance into a debate about operational philosophy and norms.
