Anthropic said Claude will remain free of advertisements, marking a sharp departure from rival OpenAI, which began testing banner ads in a low-cost ChatGPT tier earlier this year. The company unveiled a Super Bowl commercial that mocks AI assistants interrupting personal conversations with product pitches.
In a company blog post, Anthropic stated, “There are many good places for advertising. A conversation with Claude is not one of them.” It argued that including ads in AI conversations would be “incompatible” with Claude’s goal of being a genuinely helpful assistant for work and deep thinking.
The stance stands in contrast to OpenAI’s January announcement that it would start testing banner ads for free-users and ChatGPT Go subscribers in the United States, with ads appearing at the bottom of responses and not influencing the answers. Paid Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise subscribers will not see ads.
The company also highlighted Claude Code’s growing popularity among developers and noted that competition in AI coding tools, such as OpenAI’s Codex, has intensified. Industry observers have noted the shift of some developers toward Claude Code, reflecting broader tensions in the AI software market.
In its Super Bowl spot, a thin man tries to perform a pull-up as a hulking AI assistant looks on. The assistant subtly inserts a supplement ad into the workout planning, a tit-for-tat jab at ad-supported AI products. The ad does not name OpenAI, but the implication is clear: Claude will not be monetized through in-conversation advertising.
Analysts say the exchange underscores broader questions about the business models for AI products as OpenAI and Anthropic pursue different balance points between subscriptions, enterprise deals, and advertising. Anthropic has framed Claude’s ad-free stance as a principled choice aimed at protecting user trust and the quality of assistance.
