As OpenAI and Claude fight over ads, Google says ‘show me the money’
(2026/02/11)
- Reference: 1770795671
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/02/11/google_openai_advertising_approaches/
- Source link:
As OpenAI walks the advertising tightrope to balance revenue gains against credibility and safety, ad kingpin Google is roaring ahead to use AI to improve its advertising products.
Forrester vice president and principal analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee told The Register "the jury is out" on whether consumers will bite on ads in chatbots, like the ones [1]OpenAI introduced in its lowest ChatGPT tiers on Monday.
"Answer engines have earned high trust among consumers partly because of the conversational fluidity of the experiences and partly because of their prescriptive and often authoritative personality," he said, using a neologism for AI chatbots. "Throwing advertising into the mix muddies the waters and detracts from the credibility of the experience. There is likely to be a backlash in the short term, and Anthropic is already using the Super Bowl to stir those murky waters," he noted, referring to the [2]anti-advertising ads OpenAI's main competitor aired on TV during the game on Sunday.
[3]
One thing working in advertising's favor is a jaded public that expects to have a quid pro quo relationship with technology services, whether it is Netflix, LinkedIn, or Google, Chatterjee said.
[4]
[5]
"The truth is that despite protestations, consumers have progressively become comfortable with a give-and-take model, be that exchanging information for value received, or suffering advertising for pricing relief," he said. "Streamers have already proven that ad-supported pricing tiers are very effective at price discriminating among consumer segments. The future of consumer-facing AI models will likely be one that is interrupted with advertising, except for those who pay to spare themselves that interruption."
Google is taking a slightly different approach. While it is not planning to integrate ads directly into Gemini results, Google’s chief business officer [6]Philipp Schindler told investors during its fourth quarter earnings call last week that the company saw three areas where AI could be "transformational" for its ad revenue: ad quality, advertiser tools, and new AI user experiences.
[7]
And thanks to the questions users have willingly fed into Gemini, Schindler said Google has improved its output of relevant, high-quality ads, and it plans to use that knowledge across its ad offerings.
"Gemini’s understanding of intent has increased our ability to deliver ads on longer, more complex searches that were previously challenging to monetize,” Schindler said. "Gemini models also have a significant impact on query understanding in non-English languages, expanding opportunities for businesses to scale globally."
Google is already experimenting with ads that appear near the AI-generated answers at the top of search results when searchers are in "AI Mode," Schindler said.
[8]
"We have significantly increased our focus on AI Mode and are in the early stages of experimenting with AI Mode monetization, like testing ads below the AI response, with more underway,” Schindler said. “For example, we announced Direct Offers, a new Google Ads pilot, which will allow advertisers to show exclusive offers for shoppers who are ready to buy, directly in AI Mode. This new type of sponsored content uses AI to match the right offer provided by the retailer to the right user... Soon, people can use a new checkout experience to buy directly in AI Mode and Gemini from select merchants.”
A Google spokesperson reiterated that there are currently no ads in its Gemini app or in the Gemini browser experience, and told us "All ads in AI Mode will be marked as 'sponsored content'; anything that doesn't have that label is going to be organic from the model.”
"Even if users are able to purchase items inside Gemini, it will currently only be possible if the items are surfaced through an organic search,” the spokesperson added.
During the quarter ended Dec. 31, Google generated $82.3 billion in ad revenue: $63.1 billion from search and other Google sites, $11.4 billion from YouTube, and $7.8 billion from third-party websites, apps, and platforms that use Google's ad services.
Meanwhile, the day after [9]Claude dinged Altman’s company with Super Bowl spots depicting humorous scenarios of AI ads gone wrong, OpenAI revealed what those ads would look like in reality.
The House of Altman said the company is testing ads, and only to logged-in users of the free and lowest-tier Go subscription plans. Users in other tiers such as Plus, Pro, Enterprise, and Education will have ad-free experiences for now.
"Our goal is for ads to support broader access to more powerful ChatGPT features while maintaining the [10]trust people place in ChatGPT for important and personal tasks. We’re starting with a test to learn, listen, and make sure we get the experience right," according to an OpenAI blog post.
Several safeguards are also in place, OpenAI said, including age restrictions that limit ads to accounts where the user is over 18 years of age. Ads will also not appear around the sensitive topics of health, mental wellbeing, or politics. Additionally, the ads will not influence ChatGPT’s answers and will be clearly labeled.
Chatterjee said OpenAI hopes its ads defray costs and provide the company with some economic relief, rather than becoming a significant contributor to revenue. The analyst believes that could change in the future, as Forrester data indicates a majority of consumers use AI model-driven answer engines in their discovery process, rather than relying on classic search engines alone.
“Not only is adoption growing rapidly, but those who use these tools have experiences comparable in quality to traditional searches and, in many instances, trust the outcomes of these answer engines more,” he said. “A future in which AI models are the preeminent mode of consumer discovery threatens traditional media channels.” ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://openai.com/index/testing-ads-in-chatgpt/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/09/superbowl_ad_reach_anthropic_beat_openai/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://abc.xyz/investor/events/event-details/2026/2025-Q4-Earnings-Call-2026-Dr_C033hS6/default.aspx
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/anthropic_no_advertising_in_claude/
[10] https://openai.com/index/testing-ads-in-chatgpt/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Forrester vice president and principal analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee told The Register "the jury is out" on whether consumers will bite on ads in chatbots, like the ones [1]OpenAI introduced in its lowest ChatGPT tiers on Monday.
"Answer engines have earned high trust among consumers partly because of the conversational fluidity of the experiences and partly because of their prescriptive and often authoritative personality," he said, using a neologism for AI chatbots. "Throwing advertising into the mix muddies the waters and detracts from the credibility of the experience. There is likely to be a backlash in the short term, and Anthropic is already using the Super Bowl to stir those murky waters," he noted, referring to the [2]anti-advertising ads OpenAI's main competitor aired on TV during the game on Sunday.
[3]
One thing working in advertising's favor is a jaded public that expects to have a quid pro quo relationship with technology services, whether it is Netflix, LinkedIn, or Google, Chatterjee said.
[4]
[5]
"The truth is that despite protestations, consumers have progressively become comfortable with a give-and-take model, be that exchanging information for value received, or suffering advertising for pricing relief," he said. "Streamers have already proven that ad-supported pricing tiers are very effective at price discriminating among consumer segments. The future of consumer-facing AI models will likely be one that is interrupted with advertising, except for those who pay to spare themselves that interruption."
Google is taking a slightly different approach. While it is not planning to integrate ads directly into Gemini results, Google’s chief business officer [6]Philipp Schindler told investors during its fourth quarter earnings call last week that the company saw three areas where AI could be "transformational" for its ad revenue: ad quality, advertiser tools, and new AI user experiences.
[7]
And thanks to the questions users have willingly fed into Gemini, Schindler said Google has improved its output of relevant, high-quality ads, and it plans to use that knowledge across its ad offerings.
"Gemini’s understanding of intent has increased our ability to deliver ads on longer, more complex searches that were previously challenging to monetize,” Schindler said. "Gemini models also have a significant impact on query understanding in non-English languages, expanding opportunities for businesses to scale globally."
Google is already experimenting with ads that appear near the AI-generated answers at the top of search results when searchers are in "AI Mode," Schindler said.
[8]
"We have significantly increased our focus on AI Mode and are in the early stages of experimenting with AI Mode monetization, like testing ads below the AI response, with more underway,” Schindler said. “For example, we announced Direct Offers, a new Google Ads pilot, which will allow advertisers to show exclusive offers for shoppers who are ready to buy, directly in AI Mode. This new type of sponsored content uses AI to match the right offer provided by the retailer to the right user... Soon, people can use a new checkout experience to buy directly in AI Mode and Gemini from select merchants.”
A Google spokesperson reiterated that there are currently no ads in its Gemini app or in the Gemini browser experience, and told us "All ads in AI Mode will be marked as 'sponsored content'; anything that doesn't have that label is going to be organic from the model.”
"Even if users are able to purchase items inside Gemini, it will currently only be possible if the items are surfaced through an organic search,” the spokesperson added.
During the quarter ended Dec. 31, Google generated $82.3 billion in ad revenue: $63.1 billion from search and other Google sites, $11.4 billion from YouTube, and $7.8 billion from third-party websites, apps, and platforms that use Google's ad services.
Meanwhile, the day after [9]Claude dinged Altman’s company with Super Bowl spots depicting humorous scenarios of AI ads gone wrong, OpenAI revealed what those ads would look like in reality.
The House of Altman said the company is testing ads, and only to logged-in users of the free and lowest-tier Go subscription plans. Users in other tiers such as Plus, Pro, Enterprise, and Education will have ad-free experiences for now.
"Our goal is for ads to support broader access to more powerful ChatGPT features while maintaining the [10]trust people place in ChatGPT for important and personal tasks. We’re starting with a test to learn, listen, and make sure we get the experience right," according to an OpenAI blog post.
Several safeguards are also in place, OpenAI said, including age restrictions that limit ads to accounts where the user is over 18 years of age. Ads will also not appear around the sensitive topics of health, mental wellbeing, or politics. Additionally, the ads will not influence ChatGPT’s answers and will be clearly labeled.
Chatterjee said OpenAI hopes its ads defray costs and provide the company with some economic relief, rather than becoming a significant contributor to revenue. The analyst believes that could change in the future, as Forrester data indicates a majority of consumers use AI model-driven answer engines in their discovery process, rather than relying on classic search engines alone.
“Not only is adoption growing rapidly, but those who use these tools have experiences comparable in quality to traditional searches and, in many instances, trust the outcomes of these answer engines more,” he said. “A future in which AI models are the preeminent mode of consumer discovery threatens traditional media channels.” ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://openai.com/index/testing-ads-in-chatgpt/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/09/superbowl_ad_reach_anthropic_beat_openai/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://abc.xyz/investor/events/event-details/2026/2025-Q4-Earnings-Call-2026-Dr_C033hS6/default.aspx
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYxhUAAQanmuuJtwtrJ1YQAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/anthropic_no_advertising_in_claude/
[10] https://openai.com/index/testing-ads-in-chatgpt/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Ads?
jake
What are these things you call "ads"?
Re: Ads?
Anonymous Coward
Ads per se I can understand being stopped by an adblock. What about the irrelevant sponsored crap and outright ads that are poisoning search results
Re: Ads?
cyberdemon
Indeed. And there's no possibility to block ads when every page you view is generated on-the-fly by a bullshit-o-matic.
"Google is roaring ahead to use AI to improve its advertising products"
DJV
"improve"? Unless it means to turn them off completely, this might be a new interpretation of the word "improve" that I am unaware of.
Just when you thought AI couldn't get any shitter...
druck
...along comes AI with ads.
"Schindler said Google has improved its output of relevant, high-quality ads"
No it fucking hasn't. All I see is still ads for
* Stuff I've already bought and don't need any more of
* Stuff I've already looked at and decided I didn't want
* Stuff I've already looked at in passing
* Stuff I've mentioned but neither need nor want
* What people bought next - as if I give a shit
* What people bought at the same time - same shit status
* What's "trending" - why the fuck should I be remotely interested in what's "trending"
Search results are already being poisoned with sponsored crap that's almost uniformly irrelevant. Now I'm seeing swathes if condescending AI twaddle that seems to take most of its sense from the first couple of real results and smears them into a half page spiel of irrelevance.
JUST FUCKING TURN THE SHIT OFF