Ads aren’t coming to Gemini, Google says — but OpenAI has shown that the inevitable is coming

As 2026 fast approaches, the world of AI continues to evolve daily, opening up new capabilities through updates and integrating new ways to interact with chatbots.

That said, this week has firmly focused on the world of advertising within AI chatbots. It started when $200 a month ChatGPT subscribers started to notice "app suggestions" in their conversations.

OpenAI was quick to accept responsibility, disabling the pop-ups that looked like ads, with Mark Chen, the company's Chief Research Officer, saying, "anything that feels like an ad needs to be handled with care, and we fell short."

Now, ChatGPT's biggest competitor, Google Gemini, is firmly in the spotlight with a new rumor that says ads are definitely coming to the AI platform. The only caveat? Google has completely denied this report, stating, "There are no ads in the Gemini app, and there are no current plans to change that."

Ads are inevitable

That line sounds reassuring, but it also comes with the unmissable qualifier of "current plans".

That’s where Google’s stance becomes interesting. It can be said that Gemini isn’t doing this today, and it’s right. It can insist your chats won’t be used for ads, and that’s true too.

But OpenAI has just shown the industry what happens when the business model meets the reality of massive compute bills and multi-billion-dollar growth. Eventually, something has to give, even if the company has backtracked for now.

AI assistants are quickly turning into the new home for search, recommendations, and app discovery. That’s the exact territory where ads thrive.

And while Gemini might be holding firm for now, it’s hard to imagine a future where none of these platforms explore “suggestions” as part of the chat window, especially when one of the biggest players has already tested the waters.

Gemini in its current form is user-friendly, focused, and refreshingly free of interruptions. But if this week proved anything, it’s that the era of ads in AI assistants is coming. OpenAI sparked it, users reacted exactly how you’d expect, and the rest of the industry is watching closely.

Whether Gemini stays ad-free for good or simply waits for the right moment is the real question. And after this week, nothing feels off the table anymore.

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