Anthropic, an AI company founded by OpenAI-ers, was in the news recently. Their inaugural Super Bowl ad looked like a shot across the bow at their now-rival, OpenAI. The ad featured a very thin, young guy soliciting advice on how to get a six-pack. Then, it took an unexpected turn, focusing on the fact that, while ads are a new norm in AI, Anthropic’s chatbot Claude would remain completely ad-free.
That one spot alone has caught the eye of everyone across the interwebs with their light-heartedness. Beyond that, it’s a stark and effective critique of OpenAI’s advertising ploy. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, responded to the ad with laughter on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). He confessed he thought it was funny the way Anthropic framed it.
OpenAI is among the latest tech companies to make a public commitment to rolling out ads in its products. They make a starting promise that ads would be labeled and not interfere with ChatGPT interactions. We look to balance giving a robust free tier of service to the maximum number of users with transparency and clarity.
Anthropic’s advertisement has been called “mocking,” “skewering,” and “dunking” on OpenAI’s go-to-market strategy. Anthropic has a rather audacious announcement advertising for AI. This announcement should be seen as the writing on the wall that they will never add ads to their own products. This approach contrasts with the even more starkly aggressive strategy pursued by OpenAI. They’re introducing an ad-supported tier on top of their existing pricing structure, which includes free access and paid subscription plans from $8 to $200.
Although Altman laughed at the advertisement, the OpenAI head was not afraid to take a few shots at Anthropic’s practices marvelously. Senator Warner went on to accuse the company of taking an authoritarian approach to AI. He implied that Anthropic is attempting to monopolize AI deployment by cutting off competitors they do not like, such as OpenAI.
“One authoritarian company won’t get us there on their own, to say nothing of the other obvious risks. It is a dark path.” – Sam Altman
In his defense of OpenAI’s advertising model, Altman stated, “We would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them.” He noted that OpenAI is responsive to user needs, and that users would not tolerate invasive advertising models.
Anthropic and OpenAI are widely thought to compete fiercely in the rapidly changing AI market. This rivalry has brought to the fore significant themes, paramount among them ethics and user agency. Anthropic is often very loud about positioning “responsible AI” at the center of its brand. This founding principle has anchored the company from day one. The company offers a robust free chat tier in addition to four paid subscription tiers. You can register for plans costing $0, $17, $100 and $200.
While these conversations are taking place, there’s no doubt that both companies are furiously adjusting their plans based on market pressures and user needs. Meanwhile, OpenAI is hellbent on monetizing its consumer services with ads. Anthropic is focused on keeping its chatbot experience free of ads.
Both companies are going head-to-head in the AI trenches for market supremacy in generative AI. Their different approaches highlight the important and ongoing discussion over responsibility versus commercialization in AI. Altman’s comments underscore concerns about potential monopolistic behavior in the industry and raise questions about how companies like Anthropic may influence the future of AI usage.