Claude vs ChatGPT: Why OpenAI’s Sam Altman called Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads 'clearly dishonest'

The rivalry between leading artificial intelligence firms spilled into public view after Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, accused Anthropic of running “clearly dishonest” advertising, as they debut high-profile Super Bowl campaigns.

In a lengthy post on X late Wednesday, Altman said Anthropic’s commercials misrepresented how OpenAI plans to introduce advertising into ChatGPT, arguing the startup was using “doublespeak” to criticise hypothetical practices that do not exist.

“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.”

Anthropic, which makes the chatbot Claude, is making its Super Bowl debut with ads parodying intrusive marketing inside AI conversations.

One 30-second spot shows a man seeking fitness advice in a park, only for the exchange to turn abruptly into a pitch for shoe insoles, before the screen declares: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”

While OpenAI has not been named, the commercial is widely seen as a jab at the company after it said it plans to test ads in ChatGPT.

Anthropic is also running a 60-second pregame ad featuring a therapy session that veers into a mock dating-site promotion.

OpenAI is also airing its own ad during the Super Bowl.

Before announcing plans to introduce ads, OpenAI had previously warned that advertising inside chatbots could erode user trust.

The company has said promotions will be clearly labelled, appear at the bottom of responses, avoid sensitive topics such as politics and mental health, and will not be shown to users under 18. It has also said advertisers will not have access to user conversations.

Altman said OpenAI believes “everyone deserves to use AI” and defended its free-access model.

“Anthropic serves an expensive product to rich people,” he wrote, adding that OpenAI is focused on bringing AI to billions who cannot afford subscriptions.

He also accused Anthropic of seeking to control how AI is used, saying the company blocks certain firms from its coding tools and wants to set rules for the ecosystem.

Anthropic, for its part, said Wednesday it would keep Claude ad-free, arguing in a blog post that advertising would undermine its goal of acting “unambiguously” in users’ interests.

“There are many good places for advertising. A conversation with Claude is not one of them,” the company said.

Anthropic said it generates revenue through enterprise contracts and paid subscriptions, reinvesting that income into improving its models.

It warned that introducing advertising incentives could push products toward maximising engagement rather than being genuinely helpful.