The introduction of advertising to artificial intelligence chatbots is raising concerns about user data privacy as brands increasingly seek visibility within the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
OpenAI began displaying ads within the free and lower-cost tiers of ChatGPT, the world’s most widely used conversational AI, in early February, as the company faces pressure to monetize its substantial investments. This move has quickly drawn criticism from competitors.
Rival Anthropic responded with a viral Super Bowl ad on February 8, highlighting its commitment to data security. The advertisement depicts a user receiving serious advice from a chatbot before the conversation is interrupted by an ad for a fictional dating site.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman deemed the ad “clearly dishonest.”
Beyond OpenAI, Microsoft has been featuring sponsored content within its Copilot AI assistant since 2023. Perplexity has been experimenting with ads in the U.S. Since 2024. Although Google has stated it does not plan to integrate ads into its Gemini chatbot, This proves currently testing ads within its AI-generated “overviews” on its search engine, a feature not yet available in France.
Demis Hassabis, head of Google DeepMind, cautioned in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the issue “must be approached with a lot of caution.”
“If you want a system that works for you, what matters most? Trust. In security and privacy, because you want to potentially share your life with your assistant,” he said.
OpenAI has assured users that ChatGPT’s responses will not be influenced by advertisements, which will be clearly labeled, and that the company will not sell user data to advertisers.
“AI companies are worried that selling ads will scare users away,” noted Nate Elliott, an analyst at Emarketer, according to the AFP.
Jérôme Malzac, director of innovation at AI consultancy Micropole, suggests that while the appearance of ads may disrupt users seeking solutions or information, it may be accepted by many internet users.
“When it’s free, you are the product,” he said. “It’s a risk we are all more or less aware of, but one we accept because we find it useful.”
This dynamic is welcome news for advertisers, who are closely watching the rapid adoption of generative AI.
“We are already seeing how high conversion rates are for people coming through ChatGPT and other large language models,” said Justin Seibert, president of Direct Online Marketing, predicting that “this will change the game for the entire sector.”
AI assistants could account for up to 2% of the online advertising market by 2030, according to analysts at HSBC.
Several brands are already prioritizing visibility on this new channel, including supermarket chain Target and software company Adobe, which have positioned themselves to advertise on ChatGPT.
Other companies are focusing on optimizing their content to be favorably referenced in AI assistant responses, a strategy known as “Generative Engine Optimization” (GEO), which is emerging as an alternative to traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
“We’ve defined 90 rules to ensure the content we create is appreciated by AIs and distributed in the right place,” explained Joan Burkovic, founder of French startup GetMint, to the AFP. The company helps brands differentiate themselves in this emerging space.
GetMint already has around 100 clients, including Lacoste and Belambra vacation clubs.
Strategies include incorporating citations from scientific articles on websites, creating comprehensive FAQs, and ensuring information is well-structured and regularly updated to be easily understood by large AI models, according to Jérôme Malzac.
The stakes are high, as “if a brand isn’t mentioned, it doesn’t exist” for consumers, he concluded.
