Anthropic’s Super Bowl Ad Jabs at ChatGPT, Sam Altman Fires Back

The rivalry between leading artificial intelligence companies is heating up, and this time it’s playing out on one of advertising’s biggest stages — the Super Bowl.

Anthropic has rolled out a series of four commercials on YouTube, with one spot scheduled to air during the Super Bowl broadcast. The ads take an indirect swipe at AI platforms that could introduce advertising into their services — widely interpreted as a nod to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Each commercial follows a similar storyline. An AI, portrayed in human form, helps users with everyday needs — offering advice on relationships, brainstorming business ideas, or assisting with schoolwork. Everything seems normal until the tone abruptly shifts. The assistant begins pushing products and services, sounding more like a salesperson than a helpful tool. The message at the end is blunt: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”

Although OpenAI or ChatGPT are never explicitly named, the implication is hard to miss.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman didn’t stay silent. Responding on X, he said the ads amused him at first but later criticized Anthropic’s approach, calling it misleading. “We would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid and we know our users would reject that,” Altman wrote.

He also suggested the campaign misrepresented OpenAI’s plans. Referencing George Orwell’s 1984, Altman added, “It’s on brand for Anthropic doublespeak to use a deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that aren’t real.”

While OpenAI has not fully detailed how ads might appear inside ChatGPT, early indications suggest any promotions would be placed discreetly below responses and clearly labelled to avoid confusing users.

Altman also used the moment to highlight ChatGPT’s scale and accessibility. He claimed that ChatGPT’s free user base in Texas alone exceeds the total number of Claude users across the United States. He noted that the two companies follow very different business strategies.

According to Altman, Anthropic offers what he described as an “expensive product for rich people,” while OpenAI aims to “bring AI to billions of people who can’t pay for subscriptions.”

Beyond pricing, Altman accused Anthropic of restricting competitors. He said, “they block companies they don't like from using their coding product (including us).” Anthropic has reportedly limited access to its models on coding platform Cursor for rivals such as OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI.

The exchange underscores how competition in the AI space is no longer just about technology — it’s also about perception, trust, and business philosophy. With both companies racing to dominate the consumer AI market, even a Super Bowl commercial has become a battleground.