Anthropic: Humorous ads take aim at advertising in ChatGPT

OpenAI recently revealed plans to introduce ads in its free ChatGPT Go tier, placing them at the bottom of the interface and tailoring them to the context of ongoing conversations. Meanwhile, competitor Anthropic is publicly promoting a different approach, making it clear that it has no intention of following suit with its AI assistant, Claude.

Released on February 5, Anthropic’s four short commercials take a satirical swipe at ad-supported AI assistants. Each clip features a seemingly normal AI conversation that takes a bizarre turn when it is interrupted by out-of-place advertisements. In one spot, a man opens up to an AI therapist about his strained relationship with his mother. The assistant initially responds with empathy until the dialogue abruptly shifts to an ad for a fictional dating site called “Golden Encounters”, promoting matches with older women. Another clip shows an AI assistant analyzing a woman’s business idea before suddenly pitching her a loan, complete with a credit check, declaring: “Girlbosses need SHE-E-O Money quick.”

All four commercials end with the tagline: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.” While neither ChatGPT nor OpenAI is mentioned directly, the timing makes the target clear. Claude is positioning itself as the ad-free alternative to ChatGPT following OpenAI’s recent announcement regarding ads in the free Go tier. Instead of relying on advertising, Anthropic says it funds Claude through subscriptions and enterprise contracts. According to the company, there are no ads, no user data sales and no sponsored content. The campaign has been well received on Reddit, where users have praised its humor and timing. Still, some remain skeptical about whether Claude can truly stay ad-free in the long run.