OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is firing back at his rival, Anthropic, over a series of new Super Bowl commercials. He called the ads “funny” but “clearly dishonest” after Anthropic mocked OpenAI’s plan to put advertisements inside ChatGPT.
The drama started when Anthropic announced it would air two Super Bowl commercials—one before the game and one during the main event. These ads carry a pointed message: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.” This tagline directly targets OpenAI’s recent decision to start testing ads with its free users and “ChatGPT Go” subscribers in the United States.
Altman took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend his company’s move. He claimed the commercials are deceptive and said OpenAI would never run ads the way Anthropic portrays them. Altman argued that his team isn’t stupid and they know users would reject a bad experience. He even accused Anthropic of “doublespeak,” saying the company is using a misleading ad to criticize a “theoretical” problem that doesn’t actually exist.
This fight highlights a deep-seated rivalry. Former OpenAI researchers actually started Anthropic in 2021 after they disagreed with the direction OpenAI was taking. Ever since, the two startups have fought for users and billions of dollars in funding. Altman took a personal jab at his competitor on Wednesday, claiming Anthropic wants to control how people use AI and mostly serves “rich people” with expensive products. He pointed out that because OpenAI has so many free users, it faces a “differently-shaped problem” when it comes to paying the bills.
OpenAI says its ads will be clearly labeled and sit at the bottom of the chat window. The company insists these sponsors will not change how the chatbot actually answers questions. While Anthropic focuses its Super Bowl budget on attacking rivals, Altman says OpenAI’s own Big Game ad will focus on “builders” and show people how they can use AI to create new things.
