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Anthropic’s first Super Bowl ad has become a flashpoint in the AI arms race, drawing a pointed response from OpenAI chief executive (CEO) Sam Altman.
In a 420-word post on X, Altman responded to Anthropic’s upcoming Big Game commercial, which touts chatbot Claude’s promise to stay ad-free just weeks after OpenAI said ChatGPT would begin running ads.
“First, the good part of the Anthropic ads: they are funny, and I laughed,” Altman wrote. “But I wonder why Anthropic would go for something so clearly dishonest. Our most important principle for ads says that we won’t do exactly this; we would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid, and we know our users would reject that.”
He claimed it was “on-brand for Anthropic doublespeak to use a deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that aren’t real, but a Super Bowl ad is not where I would expect it.”
Altman highlighted Anthropic’s subscription business model, writing that it served “an expensive product to rich people.”
“We are glad they do that, and we are doing that too, but we also feel strongly that we need to bring AI to billions of people who can’t pay for subscriptions,” he added.
First, the good part of the Anthropic ads: they are funny, and I laughed.
But I wonder why Anthropic would go for something so clearly dishonest. Our most important principle for ads says that we won’t do exactly this; we would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic…
— Sam Altman (@sama) February 4, 2026
The company’s chief marketing officer (CMO), Kate Rouch, echoed Altman in her own post on Claude’s commercial.
“Calling ‘ads’ a betrayal when your business model is selling paid subscriptions to companies,” she said.
Betrayal! Deception! Treachery!
Those ads are funny
(and the former meta ads executive who made them is good at his job. he had a lot of practice)
Here’s what’s not funny:
Calling “ads” a betrayal when your business model is selling paid subscriptions to companies.
ChatGPT… pic.twitter.com/CwFx5x5MO0
— Kate Rouch 🛡️ (@kate_rouch) February 4, 2026
ADWEEK reached out to Anthropic for a response. The company declined to comment.
In a corporate blog post published alongside its Super Bowl ad, Anthropic said: “Our business model is straightforward: we generate revenue through enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions, and we reinvest that revenue into improving Claude for our users. This is a choice with tradeoffs, and we respect that other AI companies might reasonably reach different conclusions.”
Claude’s “A Time and a Place,” created by Mother, launched on Wednesday (Feb. 4) with four spots posing the question: Does advertising belong everywhere?
They showed people in various personal scenarios, asking AI chatbots personified as professionals, such as personal trainers and therapists, questions before having their thoughtful responses interrupted by jarring advertising scripts. The short films end with the slogan: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”
The brand told ADWEEK it expects the commercials to reach around 120 million people.
OpenAI has pledged that its ads—which it’s asking brands for a $200,000 commitment to run—will be separate, labeled, and never influence a chat. However, the business has also stated ads will be conversation-specific, which is the central allegation of Anthropic’s ads.
Per the Wall Street Journal, following its 2025 debut, OpenAI is reportedly preparing a 60-second spot for Super Bowl 60, meaning the two competitors could be set for a showdown during the broadcast.
Google’s Gemini has already unveiled its Big Game ad, with a pitch to consumers about “helpful” AI.
Within the last 12 months, we’ve seen AI’s biggest players swap product demos for cinematic ads that are taking a page from Apple’s emotional storytelling playbook.
In 2025, OpenAI launched its largest-ever brand campaign, showing how ChatGPT is useful in relatable, daily moments. Meanwhile, Anthropic has been busy positioning Claude as the thinker of the group, even opening a physical space in New York. Last summer, Perplexity teamed up with Squid Game actor Lee Jung-jae to take a playful jab at Google.
Rebecca is Adweek’s brand editor.
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The brand will offer Rewards members a post-game free coffee for the second year running
The AI company’s first Big Game spots position Claude as a chatbot free from ads and sponsors
