Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) is pushing OpenAI to move advertising to ChatGPT and is asking several other companies if they have similar plans. IN letters to OpenAI CEOsAnthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap and xAI, Markey writes that embedding ads in AI chatbots “raises serious concerns about consumer protection, privacy and safety of young users.”
OpenAI will begin testing ads for free ChatGPT users in the coming weeks, and they will appear in the form of “sponsored” products and services at the bottom of conversations with the chatbot. The company says it will show ads related to your chat, but won’t show them to users under 18 or during conversations related to physical, mental health or politics.
Markey argues that even with these safeguards, the addition of advertising on ChatGPT and other AI platforms “represents a significant and potentially dangerous transformation” in the advertising industry because the user’s “emotional connection” to the chatbot could allow companies to “prey on the relationships their systems have created.” Markey also points to OpenAI’s statement that “conversational interfaces give people the opportunity to move beyond static messages and links,” which could make it more hard to recognize what is and isn’t advertising in the future.
Markey also points to potential privacy risks, arguing that AI companies are prohibited from using an individual’s “personal thoughts, health concerns, family issues or other confidential information” for targeted advertising purposes. And while OpenAI says it won’t show ads when users discuss sensitive topics, Markey questions whether the company will continue to apply this information to personalize ads in subsequent chats.
“AI companies have a responsibility to ensure that AI-powered chatbots do not become another digital ecosystem designed to covertly manipulate users,” Markey writes. It gives OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap and xAI until February 12 to answer questions about advertising on AI chatbots and what they are doing to protect users.