Anthropic has taken a very public shot at ads in AI chatbots, pledging that its assistant Claude will stay free of advertising even as rivals move in the opposite direction. The company says it has no plans to introduce sponsored content, branded responses, or advertiser-influenced answers, positioning the decision as a core principle rather than a temporary choice.

The announcement arrives just weeks after OpenAI confirmed that ads will soon appear in ChatGPT for free users and those on the lower-priced Go tier. Anthropic’s response has been anything but subtle. Alongside a detailed blog post, the company has debuted Super Bowl commercials that mock AI assistants interrupting users with awkward ad placements mid-conversation.

According to Anthropic, advertising creates incentives that are fundamentally misaligned with how an AI assistant should behave. In its view, a system designed to sell products, even indirectly, risks nudging responses toward commercial outcomes rather than prioritizing what is most useful for the user. The company points to scenarios like health and wellness queries, where users expect neutral advice rather than suggestions shaped by sponsorships. It also argues that ads would be distracting for people using Claude as a work tool.

Claude will remain ad-free, at least for now

Despite the firm messaging, Anthropic stops short of making an absolute commitment. The company acknowledges that while Claude is ad-free today, it may revisit the approach in the future, promising to be transparent if that happens. This caveat is notable given how strongly Anthropic is currently marketing its anti-ad stance.

None of Anthropic’s ads mention OpenAI or ChatGPT by name, but the target is obvious. Whether this is enough to influence users to switch from ChatGPT to Claude for an ad-free experience remains to be seen.