Altman rebuts Anthropic’s Super Bowl swipe at ChatGPT ads as OpenAI readies ad tests

New Delhi: A public dispute has emerged between OpenAI and Anthropic after the latter released a series of commercials criticising the use of advertising in conversational AI, including a spot set to air during the upcoming Super Bowl.

Anthropic unveiled several adverts that mock the idea of sponsored content appearing inside chatbot responses. One commercial depicts a user asking a human embodiment of ChatGPT for fitness advice, only to receive a response promoting insoles designed to help “short kings stand tall”, suggesting that personal data shared in AI chats could be used for marketing.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman responded on X, calling the commercials “dishonest” and stating that the company’s advertising guidelines prohibit the scenario portrayed. “We would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid and we know our users would reject that,” Altman wrote. 

First, the good part of the Anthropic ads: they are funny, and I laughed.

But I wonder why Anthropic would go for something so clearly dishonest. Our most important principle for ads says that we won’t do exactly this; we would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic…

— Sam Altman (@sama) February 4, 2026

He added that it was “on brand for Anthropic doublespeak to use a deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that aren’t real”, though he also described the adverts as “funny” and said he “laughed”.

Altman further criticised Anthropic’s business model and platform policies, accusing the company of serving “an expensive product to rich people” and attempting to control how AI tools are used by restricting access to certain coding systems for competing firms, including OpenAI.

Anthropic, in a statement released alongside its campaign and blog post, reiterated that its chatbot Claude will remain free of advertising. The company said that while advertising supports many digital services, embedding ads directly into AI conversations would be incompatible with the role it envisions for Claude as a tool for work, problem-solving and personal reflection. 

It added that users often share sensitive or personal information with AI assistants, making commercial influence within those exchanges inappropriate or difficult to distinguish from genuine recommendations.

Also Read | Anthropic vows Claude will stay ad-free, takes aim at ad-led AI assistants

The company also argued that advertising incentives could shape how AI systems respond to users, potentially introducing commercial considerations into interactions that should be guided solely by user needs. Even ad placements adjacent to conversations, it said, could shift product priorities towards engagement metrics rather than usefulness.

Anthropic stated that it currently generates revenue through enterprise contracts and subscriptions and intends to expand access to Claude without introducing advertising. It acknowledged that other companies may take different approaches and noted that it could revisit its position in future if necessary.

The exchange follows OpenAI’s January announcement that it would begin testing ads across some ChatGPT account tiers. At the time, the company said adverts would be clearly labelled, would not influence responses and would not provide advertisers access to user conversations. Altman said the additional revenue could help keep the service available at no cost for many users.

Also Read | ChatGPT ad model puts native, banner and video budgets at risk

According to reports, the Super Bowl broadcast, one of the largest television events in the United States, drew 127.7 million viewers last year, according to Nielsen, and is expected to attract an even larger audience this year. Anthropic’s decision to run a commercial during the event places the debate over AI monetisation models in front of a mass audience.

Altman’s post also prompted a range of reactions on X, with some users criticising OpenAI’s recent product decisions and others commenting on the broader debate around advertising, access and competition in the AI sector. 

Watch the ad films: