Anthropic Mocks ChatGPT Ads in Super Bowl Spot, Altman Fires Back [Video]

Anthropic is launching a Super Bowl ad campaign that takes aim at the ad-supported AI model, positioning its Claude assistant as a dedicated "space to think" that won't try to sell users anything. The commercials, which dramatize the frustration of being interrupted by targeted ads during private moments, arrive just weeks after OpenAI confirmed it will start testing advertisements in its free and lower-cost ChatGPT tiers.



The spots feature a personified algorithm crashing serious conversations—such as a student working on an essay or a couple breaking up—only to awkwardly pitch products like high-interest payday loans, height-boosting insoles, or memento jewelry. In a blog post outlining the strategy, Anthropic argues that ad-based models introduce incentives that undermine the core utility of an AI assistant. The company claims that once monetization enters the conversation, users can no longer be sure whether advice is genuinely helpful or simply profitable.


OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded publicly on X, calling the campaign "clearly dishonest" and accusing Anthropic of "doublespeak." While acknowledging the ads were funny, Altman said OpenAI would never deploy advertising in the intrusive way depicted. He defended ad-supported access as the only viable path to providing free AI tools to billions of users who cannot afford premium subscriptions, characterizing Anthropic's approach as a costly option for a smaller, wealthier audience. Altman also accused the company of attempting to "control what people do with AI."

The exchange underscores a growing philosophical divide in the AI industry, emerging just as Apple begins integrating these tools into its own platforms. This week, Apple released Xcode 26.3, which officially brings agentic coding support from both Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's Codex.

Altman also used the moment to highlight momentum for OpenAI's products, noting that the new Codex app for Mac has already surpassed 500,000 downloads since launching on Monday.