February 4, 2026
Super Bowl beef, AI edition
Sam Altman Responds to Anthropic Ad Campaign
Sam vs Anthropic: Super Bowl clapback has fans yelling 'hit a nerve' as he vows no ads
TLDR: Sam Altman blasted Anthropic’s Super Bowl ad as misleading, vowed ChatGPT won’t shove ads into replies, and touted free access and growth. Commenters called him rattled and defensive, while others cheered the “no ads” pledge—spotlighting a bigger fight over who controls AI and how it gets paid for.
Anthropic’s cheeky Super Bowl ad imagined AI replies stuffed with ads, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman fired back with a full-on clapback: funny ad, sure, but “dishonest,” and “we’d never do that.” He also painted Anthropic as controlling and pricey, while pitching OpenAI as the people’s pick—free access for billions, stats about Texans using ChatGPT, and a victory lap for his new “Codex” app’s 500,000 downloads. The crowd? Oh, they smelled smoke. “Surely hit a nerve,” one commenter said, while another poked, “Defensive much, Sam?” Meanwhile, a helpful poster dropped the actual ad link so everyone could judge for themselves.
The “no ads in replies” vow won some cautious cheers—if that promise holds, great—but the “authoritarian” label on Anthropic set off fireworks. Fans split: Team Sam applauded the open-for-everyone talk, skeptics side-eyed the weird “Texans vs Claude users” flex and the hard sell on “builders.” The line of the night roasted Google: “they make fake ad Emails so fake ad Replies seems exactly like their style.” The HN thread filled with popcorn energy, memes about CEO beefs, and a running scorecard: “expensive product for rich people” vs “we’ll never run ads like that.” Verdict from the comments: the ad was a troll, the response was a tell, and the drama is just getting good.
Key Points
- •Sam Altman criticizes Anthropic’s ad campaign as deceptive and says OpenAI would not run ads as depicted.
- •He states paid ChatGPT Plus/Pro users do not see ads and emphasizes OpenAI’s commitment to free access to AI.
- •Altman claims more Texans use free ChatGPT than the total number of Claude users in the United States.
- •He alleges Anthropic restricts use of its coding product by blocking certain companies, including OpenAI, and seeks to set rules for AI use and business models.
- •Altman highlights OpenAI’s Super Bowl ad focused on builders, reports 500,000 Codex app downloads since launch, and aims to lower AI prices further.