Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, confirmed that Google’s AI assistant Gemini will not feature advertising for the time being. Meanwhile, OpenAI has begun testing advertising in ChatGPT’s free and low-cost plans. Hassabis emphasized that the focus remains on developing a trustworthy, user-centric assistant. Advertisements could undermine user confidence in the AI’s responses.
The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum in Davos and highlights a strategic difference from OpenAI, which has introduced advertising to cover rising costs. While Google’s broader ecosystem already generates advertising revenue elsewhere, Gemini itself will remain ad-free for the time being.