Google Has Promised That Gemini Will Be Ad-Free (for Now).
A week after OpenAI admitted it would soon begin testing ads in ChatGPT , Google promised it had no immediate plans to introduce ads in Gemini.
The announcement was made to journalist Alex Heath during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis stated that the company has “no plans” to implement advertising in Gemini. While the statement was brief, it echoes a similar statement Hassabis made in an interview with Axios , where he said he was “a little surprised” that OpenAI was already implementing advertising in ChatGPT.
This surprise is understandable, especially considering that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated back in 2024 that he views advertising as “a last resort within our business model.” But looking at the numbers, it becomes clear why ChatGPT was receiving advertising long before Gemini even considered it.
Google can afford to refrain from placing ads.
While Google makes most of its money by showing people ads , it can also rely on Search and YouTube to deliver ads to most users. Meanwhile, OpenAI is essentially the same as ChatGPT. As the latter transitions to a commercial model , it now has to prioritize profits, something it struggled to achieve without traditional online revenue sources like advertising. Google, meanwhile, is already making money in other areas and can take its time and leverage its massive size to keep Gemini ad-free, at least while it continues to fight for market share.
Does this mean Google’s AI will never get advertising? Well, never say never. But it does mean it’s probably not in the offing—even if Google plans to monetize Gemini more aggressively in the long term, the company doesn’t face the same time pressure as Altman’s company.
It’s unclear whether the presence of ads will drive users away from ChatGPT, but this move comes after significant successes for Gemini and one major setback for ChatGPT. First, Google’s Nano Banana image editing app went viral on social media , gaining widespread popularity. Then, Google struck a deal with Apple to integrate its AI into iPhones, and it looks like Gemini will power Siri for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT’s user base reportedly fell by 6% early last month after Gemini’s model update —and that was before the introduction of advertising. While ChatGPT still leads in overall user base, there are signs that Google is catching up.
The gap in strategy is clear: while OpenAI seeks ways to extract more value from its existing user base, Google can focus on growing its own user base through new integrations into the products we already use every day . I can’t say what the limits of this growth are, but I can say that I rarely use AI intentionally , but I still occasionally rely on Google’s AI reviews. If Google can convince more people like me to seamlessly integrate AI into our regular workflows, perhaps we’ll soon have a new leader in AI.