OpenAI recently announced that it would soon start testing ads in ChatGPT, showing sponsored content to both free users and Go subscribers in the US. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis weighed in on the approach and made it clear that Google’s Gemini chatbot won’t be showing ads anytime soon.
“It’s interesting they’ve gone for that so early,” Hassabis said when asked about OpenAI’s decision to roll out ads in ChatGPT. “Maybe they feel they need to make more revenue,” he told the Sources website.
Hassabis’s remarks highlight a key difference in strategy between AI companies. OpenAI is moving fast: build, release, monetise, repeat. On the other hand, Google is taking a slower, long-term approach. With over $200 billion in annual ad revenue from its search business, Google can afford to keep its Gemini chatbot free from ads for now, reports Firstpost. Google already shows ads in AI-generated summaries on search results. This allows Google to monetise without interrupting conversations.
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Well, Hassabis also confirmed that Gemini models will soon power the next version of Apple’s Siri. The partnership has been seen as a major win for Google and a signal that Apple’s in-house AI development is lagging.
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Describing DeepMind as the “engine room” behind Google’s AI products, Hassabis emphasised that the focus is on building intelligence, not chasing ads. So, for now, Google’s strategy is to keep advertising limited to search and discovery, while Gemini stays clean for both consumers and businesses.
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