In February 2026, the three biggest names in generative AI took three opposite stances on advertising. For anyone who relies on these tools daily, it may be the most consequential signal of the year.
On February 9, 2026, OpenAI switched on the first advertisements inside ChatGPT. Sponsored placements, displayed below responses, targeted based on conversation topic, chat history, and previous ad interactions. The test covers free users and Go subscribers ($8/month) in the United States. Plus, Pro, and Enterprise subscribers are excluded.
Five days earlier, Anthropic had gone the other way. In a post titled Claude is a space to think, the company committed to never displaying ads inside Claude. No sponsored links, no product placements, no advertiser influence on responses. The argument fits in one sentence: users should never have to wonder whether the AI is genuinely helping them or subtly steering the conversation toward something monetisable.
Then, on February 18, Perplexity joined the no-ads camp. After testing sponsored answers in 2024, the AI-powered search startup reversed course. A company executive told the Financial Times with unusual candour: a user must believe they are getting the best possible answer if they are going to keep using the product and accept paying for it.
Three companies. Three strategies. One question: does it actually matter to the user?
Why do ads inside a conversational AI raise a different problem?
We have lived with online advertising for twenty-five years. We know how to spot a sponsored link on Google, scroll past a banner on a news site, ignore a promoted story on Instagram. The social contract is implicit but clear: the service is free, ads fund access.
With a conversational AI, the mechanics are different. The user does not browse a list of results and pick the relevant ones. They receive a single answer, delivered in a tone that resembles a trusted adviser. And it is precisely this form, that is, the natural conversation, that makes the line between a sincere recommendation and a commercial suggestion harder to draw.
OpenAI states that ads do not influence ChatGPT’s responses. That is probably true today, at the testing stage. But the question is not technical. It is perceptual. If a user asks which project management tool to adopt and a Monday.com ad appears below the answer, the answer itself is tainted by doubt, even if it is objectively neutral.
Will user trust in AI depend on the business model?
This is the real question, and no one has the answer today.
Anthropic bets that trust is a durable competitive advantage. Their reasoning: in a market where several AIs are technically comparable, the absence of a conflict of interest becomes a selection criterion. A marketing director using Claude to evaluate vendors or structure a launch plan does not want to wonder whether the response was influenced by an advertiser.
OpenAI bets that users will adapt. As they adapted to advertising in Google Search, on YouTube, in podcasts. Altman himself called the idea of combining ads and AI « uniquely unsettling » in 2024. Eighteen months later, infrastructure commitments exceeding $1.4 trillion demand revenue diversification.
Both arguments are defensible. But they rest on different assumptions about how users will behave with a product category that did not exist three years ago.
Where does Google stand?
Google’s position illustrates the market’s ambiguity. The company already places ads inside AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that appear above traditional search results. In February 2026, Google launched a dedicated ad format for AI Mode, its conversational search experience. But the Gemini chatbot itself remains ad-free. For now.
« For now » is doing a lot of work in that sentence. In late 2025, Adweek reported that Google had briefed advertisers about a Gemini ad rollout planned for 2026. Google’s VP of Global Ads publicly denied it the same day. That kind of contradiction (advertiser briefings on one side, official denials on the other) is itself revealing of internal tensions.
What scenarios are emerging for ads in AI agents?
The conversational AI industry is at an inflection point comparable to the early web of the 2000s. Back then, the question was: will users accept search engines that blend organic and paid results? The answer was yes, but at the cost of a generalised cynicism towards search results that, twenty years later, opened the door for alternatives like Perplexity.
Several scenarios coexist today. First: users get used to it, as they did with sponsored search, and ads in AI become the norm. Second: a lasting segmentation takes hold between ad-funded AI (broad access, lower trust) and subscription AI (restricted access, higher trust). Third: early scandals involving real or perceived ad bias in an AI response trigger a massive backlash that redefines market rules.
None of these scenarios is implausible.
What does this mean for B2B marketing teams?
For teams that use these tools daily (writing, research, competitive analysis, content strategy) the business model of their chosen AI is not a technical footnote. It is a reliability parameter.
A CMO who asks ChatGPT to compare three marketing automation platforms and sees a Salesforce ad below the answer cannot use that analysis as-is in a board meeting. Not because the answer is biased. Because the appearance of bias is enough to disqualify it.
This is an important nuance. The question is not whether ads actually influence responses. It is whether they influence the perceived reliability of those responses.
No one can answer this with certainty today. Not OpenAI, not Anthropic, not the analysts. Only users, over time, will decide, with their usage patterns, their subscriptions, and their tolerance for doubt.
At Fast Growth Advisors, we are watching this closely. Not to take sides. To understand how these infrastructure choices reshape the tools marketing teams rely on, and what it means for the credibility of content produced with their help.
Sources
- OpenAI : Testing ads in ChatGPT (Feb. 9, 2026)
- OpenAI : Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT (Jan. 16, 2026)
- Anthropic : Claude is a space to think (Feb. 4, 2026)
- Mac4Ever : Perplexity renonce à la publicité (Feb. 18, 2026)
- CNBC : Anthropic takes aim at OpenAI’s ad push (Feb. 4, 2026)
- CNBC : OpenAI to begin testing ads on ChatGPT (Jan. 16, 2026)
- TechCrunch : ChatGPT rolls out ads (Feb. 9, 2026)
- The Register : Anthropic keeps Claude ad-free (Feb. 4, 2026)
- Axios : Anthropic pledges ad-free Claude (Feb. 4, 2026)
- Sherwood News : Anthropic pledges no ads for Claude (Feb. 4, 2026)
- Adweek : Google Tells Advertisers It’ll Bring Ads to Gemini in 2026 (Dec. 8, 2025)
- 9to5Google : Google says ‘no plans’ for Gemini ads (Dec. 8, 2025)
- CNN : ChatGPT to start showing users ads (Jan. 16, 2026)
- NBC News : OpenAI starts testing ads in ChatGPT (Feb. 9, 2026)
- eWeek : Anthropic Says Claude Will Stay Ad-Free (Feb. 5, 2026)
- Google Blog : Digital advertising and commerce in 2026 (Feb. 11, 2026)
FAQ
Do ads in ChatGPT influence the responses?
OpenAI says no. Responses are generated independently from ads, which appear below and are clearly labelled « sponsored. » Only free and Go users see ads.
Which AI chatbots are ad-free in 2026?
Claude (Anthropic) and Perplexity have committed to no advertising. Google’s Gemini chatbot is currently ad-free, though Google already places ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Why did Perplexity abandon advertising?
After testing sponsored answers in 2024, Perplexity concluded that any doubt about response independence would undermine user trust and willingness to pay for the service.
Are ads in a conversational AI comparable to search engine ads?
The mechanics differ. A search engine presents a list of results the user filters. A conversational AI delivers a single answer in natural language, making the distinction between genuine advice and commercial suggestion harder to perceive.
What are the risks for B2B marketing teams?
The main risk is perceptual: an analysis or recommendation produced by an ad-funded AI may be seen as less reliable by decision-makers, even if it is objectively neutral.
How much does an ad-free ChatGPT subscription cost?
ChatGPT Plus at $20/month, Pro at $200/month, and Business and Enterprise plans are all ad-free. Only free accounts and Go ($8/month) display ads.
Will advertising in conversational AI become the norm?
That is the open question. AI infrastructure costs push toward ad monetisation, but the conversational nature of these tools creates an unprecedented trust risk. Only long-term user behaviour will determine the dominant model.