February 4, 2026
Ad Wars: AI Slapfight Edition
Sam Altman responds to Anthropic's "Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude" ads
Altman claps back at Anthropic—commenters smell panic
TLDR: Sam Altman blasted Anthropic’s anti-ad flex, promising OpenAI won’t do creepy ads while touting free access and Codex downloads. Commenters said he looked rattled and hypocritical, while cynics argued ads will hit all AI anyway—making trust and business models the real battleground.
Anthropic fired a cheeky Super Bowl shot—“Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude”—and OpenAI boss Sam Altman snapped back. He called the ad “dishonest,” vowed OpenAI would never run ads like that, and bragged about free ChatGPT access (“more Texans use it than all U.S. Claude users”), plus 500,000 downloads for the new Codex app. He also painted rival Anthropic as “authoritarian” that blocks companies and wants to write the rules, while casting OpenAI as pro‑builder and pro‑democracy.
The crowd? Oh, it erupted. Top vibe: Altman’s rattled. “Hit a nerve huh?” cracked one. Others said this response only amplified Anthropic’s message: “You don’t clap back from a position of power.” The hypocrisy police swarmed too, dragging Altman’s eye‑scanning Worldcoin past—“authoritarian?” became a punchline. Meanwhile, the doomers waved the ad‑economy flag: ads “expand to fill all spaces,” so expect them in every bot once users are hooked.
Commenters also piled on with week‑from‑hell energy, citing headlines about Nvidia cooling on mega‑deals and calling the post “butt hurt.” Memes flowed: popcorn GIFs, “builder era” vs “brand wars,” and “free for billions (until the mid‑roll).” The only thing everyone agreed on? This is a marketing street fight dressed up as a values debate.
Key Points
- •Sam Altman says Anthropic’s ads are misleading and asserts OpenAI would not run ads as depicted.
- •OpenAI emphasizes free access to AI and states Plus/Pro subscribers do not see ads.
- •Altman claims more Texans use ChatGPT for free than the total number of U.S. users of Claude.
- •He alleges Anthropic blocks companies, including OpenAI, from using its coding product and seeks to control AI usage and business models.
- •Altman highlights OpenAI’s Super Bowl ad focused on builders and reports 500,000 Codex app downloads since launch, vowing to lower prices and expand intelligence access.