Many artificial intelligence companies will eventually adopt advertising as a business model, according to Michael Komasinski, CEO of online advertising agency Criteo. Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Komasinski stated that advertising is the most suitable business model for large-scale rollout worldwide. He cited examples of major platforms like Google, Meta, and Snapchat, which have successfully used advertising to finance their operations.
The trend towards advertising in AI is already evident, with OpenAI beginning to test ads in its ChatGPT platform in February for free and low-cost tier subscriptions in the United States. The company has since started rolling out ads worldwide in cooperation with Criteo. Other AI companies, such as Microsoft, have also incorporated ads into their AI tools, including Copilot AI since 2023.
Not all AI companies are adopting advertising, however. Anthropic, a rival to OpenAI, has stated that it does not plan to integrate advertising into its AI tools due to data protection concerns and to protect user interests. Perplexity has experimented with ads in the United States since 2024, while Google is considering integrating ads into its Gemini platform.
Developing and rolling out AI models requires significant investments, and investors are increasingly focused on whether these technologies can be profitable. The recent rally in AI-related stocks has been driven by investor confidence, but concerns about inflation and high interest rates have made it more challenging to secure funding.
Komasinski believes that advertising formats will become more engaging, innovative, and integrated into the conversational experience of AI chatbots. Criteo works with OpenAI in 89 countries to develop advertising campaigns on AI chatbots, with around 3,600 brands trialling AI advertising campaigns. These brands have noted a modest increase in their spending on ChatGPT.
Despite the growth of AI advertising, Komasinski remains sceptical about AI agents being able to autonomously make purchases. He believes that while it is easy to order trivial items online, people would be hesitant to delegate important purchasing decisions to robots.
The adoption of advertising by AI companies is likely to continue, driven by the need for scalable and profitable business models. As AI technologies become more prevalent, companies like Criteo are well-positioned to support their advertising needs. With its expertise in online advertising, Criteo is helping AI companies like OpenAI to develop and roll out effective advertising campaigns.
Key points
- Advertising is a scalable and profitable business model for AI companies.
- OpenAI has started rolling out ads in ChatGPT worldwide in cooperation with Criteo.
- Not all AI companies are adopting advertising, citing data protection concerns and user interests.
