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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- ChatGPT is beginning limited ad testing for some users.
- Anthropic released Super Bowl ads making fun of ads inside AI chats.
- Let’s break down which AI chatbots have ads or plan to roll them out.
OpenAI recently announced plans to begin testing ads in ChatGPT for Free and Go users, and the reaction has been … a lot.
Even though the company was clear about who will see ads and how they will appear in conversations, that has not stopped at least one rival from piling on the criticism. In addition to a blog post clarifying its stance on ads, Anthropic went loud, rolling out four Super Bowl commercials that mock an unnamed AI assistant for suddenly pivoting from sycophantic responses to hard sells.
In one spot, an aspiring entrepreneur asks for input on their business idea, but is pretty quickly pushed toward a loan. In another, a student seeking essay help is steered to buy jewelry to celebrate the “momentous occasion” of their deadline. A third ad shows an adult asking how to talk to his mom, only to be told to “connect with other older women” on a dating site. The last ad tells a user chasing six-pack abs to buy 1-inch insoles to “help short kings stand tall.” If you laughed at these, so did Sam Altman.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET’s parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
In a post on X, OpenAI’s CEO called the ads funny but deceptive, saying they misrepresent how ads will work in ChatGPT. He stressed they will be labeled, separate from answers, and will not influence responses. Still, I can’t help but wonder: as AI chatbots race to scale and grow revenue, how many will rely on ads, and will those ads affect responses in the way Anthropic depicts?
And at this point, is any major AI committed to staying ad-free? To find out, I checked the current ad status of the most popular ones.
OpenAI ChatGPT
Let’s start with ChatGPT, since it is under the microscope right now. OpenAI said it plans to begin testing ads in the US for logged-in users over 18 on the Free and Go tiers, while Pro, Business, and Enterprise users will remain ad-free. According to the company, ads will appear at the bottom of responses “when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service” based on your conversation.
Also: How to use ChatGPT: A beginner’s guide to the most popular AI chatbot
The ads will be clearly labeled and kept separate from the AI’s “organic” answers. OpenAI also said ads will not appear near sensitive topics such as health, mental health, or politics, and that your user data and conversations will not be sold to advertisers. As with most platforms, you will be able to see why you are being shown an ad, dismiss it, and provide feedback.
So, if Anthropic’s big game commercials are about ChatGPT, they are misleading because they show ads interrupting and steering responses, and even appearing in sensitive conversations like health topics, all of which OpenAI said will not happen.
Anthropic Claude
Looking at Anthropic next, given how vocal it has been, the company has drawn the clearest line of any major AI player so far. It said ads do not belong inside conversations and has pledged to keep Claude ad-free. Anthropic argued that AI chats often involve sensitive topics, deep work, or complex thinking, and that advertising would “feel incongruous — and, in many cases, inappropriate.”
Responding to Anthropic’s criticism of ad-supported AI, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that “more Texans use ChatGPT for free than total people use Claude in the US,” arguing the two companies face very different scale challenges.
Also: Anthropic says its new Claude Opus 4.6 can nail your work deliverables on the first try
Anthropic has acknowledged that AI will “increasingly interact with commerce,” and said it plans to support this through user-initiated features such as agentic commerce, where Claude acts on a user’s behalf to complete a purchase or booking. “We’ll continue to build features that enable our users to find, compare, or buy products,” Anthropic said, “when they choose to do so.”
For now, Claude is solely funded through subscriptions and enterprise contracts.
Google Gemini
Google has reportedly told advertisers that ads are coming to its Gemini chatbot in 2026, according to Adweek, although details on how they will appear remain unclear. For now, Google’s support page only says Gemini chats are “not being used to show you ads.”
Also: Google’s AI Mode can search your email and photos now too – how it works
Separately, Google has begun testing ads in Search’s AI Mode. During its latest Q4 earnings call, the company revealed it is in the early stages of AI monetization, including “testing ads below the AI response,” with more experiments underway in AI Mode, as reported by Search Engine Journal. Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler even said Gemini’s improved understanding of intent has increased Google’s ability to “deliver ads on longer, more complex searches that were previously challenging to monetize.”
Google said it plans to add in-AI checkout from select merchants, too. In practice, that all suggests ads in AI Mode will appear below responses, will likely be shopping-related, and possibly coupled with checkout options.
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is tightly integrated with Microsoft Advertising, and sponsored content is already part of the experience.
Ads are clearly labeled and intentionally built into Copilot’s design, appearing below responses with explanations for how they relate to the conversation. Microsoft also offers an agentic shopping experience that lets you buy products directly inside a chat, similar to features available in other popular AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
Also: I tested all of Edge’s new AI browser features – and it felt like having a personal assistant
In a blog post from late 2024, Microsoft explained it has been “pioneering advertising on generative AI experiences,” including search ads in Microsoft Copilot since its release. “Microsoft Copilot is enhancing engagement across various ad types, including Vertical ads, Multimedia ads, Responsive Search ads, and Product ads,” the company said.
Perplexity
Perplexity began rolling out ads in late 2024.
Formatted as sponsored follow-up questions and paid media positioned to the side of an answer, the company said it intentionally chose these ad formats because they’re integrated in a way that “still protects the utility, accuracy, and objectivity of answers.”
Also: Want Perplexity Pro for free? 4 ways to get a year of access for $0 (a $200 value)
The company positions these ads as relevant suggestions rather than interruptions, but they are clearly part of its monetization strategy. “Ad programs like this help us generate revenue to share with our publisher partners,” Perplexity explained. “Experience has taught us that subscriptions alone do not generate enough revenue to create a sustainable revenue-sharing program.”
xAI Grok
Grok, the chatbot developed by xAI and integrated into X, is expected to introduce ads as part of its monetization strategy. Company leadership openly discussed ads appearing within or alongside responses, aligning with X’s ad-driven business model. Elon Musk told advertisers last summer that the platform plans to introduce ads in Grok’s responses, as reported by the Financial Times.
Also: The two fastest growing AI chatbots now (neither is ChatGPT)
“Our focus thus far has just been on making Grok the smartest, most accurate AI in the world, and I think we’ve largely succeeded in that,” Musk said, adding that X would allow marketers to pay to appear in the chatbot’s suggestions. “If a user’s trying to solve a problem [by asking Grok], then advertising the specific solution would be ideal at that point,” he said.
By 2026, users on Reddit were sharing examples of ads they had seen appear in Grok. In one case, an image-based promotion for a book being discussed popped up mid-chat, clearly targeted to the user’s prompt.
Meta AI
Meta AI does not insert ads directly into chatbot responses. However, Meta has confirmed that interactions with its AI tools are used to personalize content and advertising across its platforms. That means your AI usage can influence the ads you see elsewhere on Facebook, Instagram, etc. While you won’t see ads in your chat window right now, there’s still an ad-driven ecosystem at work.
Also: I asked six popular AIs the same trick questions, and every one of them hallucinated
So which AI chatbots are ad-free?
Right now, Anthropic’s Claude is the only major AI chatbot with a public, explicit commitment to keeping ads out of conversations altogether. Gemini doesn’t have ads in chats yet, but you will see them in AI Mode. Meta AI chats are technically ad-free as well, but Meta uses AI interactions to target ads across its platform, and it has not promised to keep ads out of AI conversations in the future.
That does not automatically make Claude the best AI chatbot for everyone. If staying ad-free is your top priority, Claude is the obvious place to start. If your needs are more nuanced, it is worth weighing features, pricing, and integrations alongside ad policies.
These ZDNET guides can help you decide which AI to use and when:
In the end, ads in AI are not the end of the world, and they do help these services generate revenue and scale.
Still, few people want an experience like the one Anthropic depicts in its Super Bowl ads, where a simple question about a business idea, an essay, relationships, or fitness suddenly turns into an intrusive, targeted pitch you never asked for or wanted.
Artificial Intelligence
