Advertising is becoming part of more AI chatbots as providers look for ways to cover the cost of generated responses. OpenAI says more than 100,000 customers have advertised in ChatGPT since ads launched in February, while Google has expanded ads in AI Mode beyond the United States. Anthropic continues to say Claude will remain ad-free.
Unlike a search ad based on a short query, a chatbot placement can draw on the conversation leading up to it. Ad platform Koah says it generally receives the full discussion when asked to select an ad for one of the more than 200 apps it serves. The company reports a click rate of about 3%, similar to mature search advertising, though the figure is not independently verified.
That added context can make an offer more relevant, but it may also include sensitive details shared with a chatbot as a confidant. Koah says it anonymizes and stores queries in de-identified form, without providing further detail on retention.
The central design problem is not simply labeling sponsored content. Platforms must decide how much conversation data advertising systems can inspect before personalization becomes an unexpected use of private dialogue.