ChatGPT launches ads as Anthropic pushes no-ads AI pitch

"In traditional search, users type a query and receive a list of options. The ad sits beside or above organic results, and the user understands they are comparison shopping. The power dynamic is clear. In a chatbot conversation, the dynamic shifts. The user is asking for help, often about something personal, sometimes something vulnerable. The AI responds in natural language, as a single authoritative voice rather than a buffet of links."

"When a sponsored placement appears at the bottom of that answer, it occupies a different psychological space than a Google Shopping ad ever did. It's the difference between a billboard on the highway and a suggestion from your friend."

"The real tension isn't whether ads will literally hijack AI responses today. It's whether the incentive structure that advertising creates will subtly reshape what these products become over time. Anthropic's published position is that even well-behaved ads introduce pressure to optimize for engagement, and that engagement metrics don't necessarily align with being genuinely useful."

Major companies including Williams-Sonoma, Target, Adobe, and Audible are integrating advertising into AI chatbots. Unlike traditional search advertising where users comparison shop among clearly marked options, chatbot ads appear within conversational responses presented as single authoritative voices. This creates a different psychological dynamic where sponsored content occupies intimate space similar to friend recommendations rather than highway billboards. The core concern centers on how advertising incentive structures may gradually reshape AI products over time, potentially optimizing for engagement metrics rather than genuine usefulness. This mirrors concerns from social media's evolution but with heightened stakes due to the conversational format's intimate nature. Google, Microsoft, and other AI companies are already testing or implementing advertising in their AI products.

Read at Quartz