Anthropic just announced that it would not run ads on Claude, and now it’s hammering the point home in one of the most visible ways possible—Super Bowl ads.
The AI company has aired commercials during Sunday’s big game, both mocking the prospect of advertisements appearing in AI conversations. Each ad depicts a helpful interaction that takes a jarring turn when the AI assistant suddenly pivots to sponsored content. The ads appeared to be directed at ChatGPT, which recently announced that it was bring ads to its platform.
The Ads
One commercial, titled “Treachery,” shows a student seeking feedback on an essay from her teacher. The teacher provides reassuring feedback—”Your point of view is fresh, well thought out and rich in research”—before abruptly inserting an advertisement mid-conversation: “From our previous conversation, I’ve noticed that the deadline for this essay is due today, so why not cherish this unforgettable occasion with Luna Memento jewelry with 10% off charms this weekend?” The confused student responds simply: “What.”
Another spot, titled ‘Betrayal’, depicts a man asking his therapist how to communicate better with his mom. After offering genuine advice—”Start by listening. Really hear what she’s trying to say underneath her words”—the assistant veers into promoting “Golden Encounters, the mature dating site that connects sensitive cubs with Roaring Cougars.” Again, the user is left baffled.
The commercials end with the tagline: “Ads are coming to AI. But not Claude.”
Smart Business, Wrong Direction?
The ideas aren’t particularly unique — such interactions were the premise of a recent Black Mirror episode. But from a competitive standpoint, the campaign makes perfect sense. With ChatGPT preparing to introduce ads to its 800 million users, Anthropic is seizing an opportunity to differentiate itself and potentially peel away users who value an ad-free experience. The ads are attention-grabbing, effective, and will likely resonate with people who find the idea of commercialization in intimate AI conversations distasteful.
But framing advertisements as inherently problematic for AI assistants misses a crucial point: ads help democratize technology. The reality is that Anthropic loses money on every free chat without an advertising revenue stream. This model is not sustainable at scale. While Anthropic can currently afford to subsidize its limited free usage through its enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions, this approach creates a troubling trajectory for the industry.
Without advertising as an option, AI companies face a binary choice: offer limited free tiers that bleed money, or put their technology entirely behind paywalls. The latter scenario leads directly to digital inequity—only those who can afford premium subscriptions would have access to advanced AI assistance, while those who cannot pay would be entirely locked out of the technology.
Advertising, for all its imperfections, has historically been the mechanism that makes powerful tools accessible to everyone regardless of ability to pay. Gmail, Google Search, Facebook, YouTube—these platforms reached billions of people precisely because advertising subsidized free access. The same dynamic could apply to AI.
Ads in AI conversations do raise legitimate concerns about conflicting incentives and user trust. But these challenges aren’t insurmountable. Transparent labeling, strict separation between organic responses and sponsored content, and user controls — as OpenAI has outlined in its approach — could mitigate many risks while preserving accessibility.
Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads are clever marketing that will likely attract users wary of ChatGPT’s upcoming changes. But if the message takes hold industry-wide—that AI assistants should never have ads—the long-term consequence could be a future where only the wealthy have access to the most capable AI tools.