Ads are coming to AI: Google, OpenAI, and Grok are all moving forward, and the author warns this will be a disaster
Advertising is Coming to AI. It’s Going to Be a Disaster.
AI summary
Daniel Barcay, executive director of the Center for Humane Technology, warned that ads are being embedded into AI conversations themselves, making them nearly impossible for users to identify, and that current advertising disclosure rules are difficult to apply. Google is testing ads in its AI chatbot responses, OpenAI tested sponsored content integration in April 2024 and formed an ad platform team, and Musk announced that Grok will show ads in responses. Barcay said AI could evolve its own influence strategies through reinforcement learning to increase engagement or drive purchases, turning the ability to understand users into a means of manipulation.