Ever since artificial intelligence assistants started popping up in apps and websites everywhere, people have been debating how these new tools should make money. Some folks worry that advertising in AI chatbots could be the next big intrusion, while others see it as an inevitable step if we want these services to keep improving and remain accessible. Is turning our chatbots into ad-powered recommendation machines a nightmare waiting to happen, or is it simply the next stage in the evolution of online services?
The Road to Revenue: Freemium Models and Beyond
At the moment, Google’s Gemini works on a freemium model: there’s a free version for general users, plus subscription-based tiers for those who want advanced features. This setup isn’t unusual; many companies use a similar approach for software, games, and streaming services. Those with the budget and the need can pay for extra perks, while everyone else gets a free, if slightly limited, version.
However, it’s no secret that Google is looking into adverts for Gemini. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, has hinted that there are “very good ideas” for native advertising in the pipeline. Despite this, Pichai was quick to point out that any adverts introduced would be designed to fit neatly into the overall user experience rather than disrupt it. Google’s track record in this area includes services like YouTube, where ads keep the platform running and fund new content, but the ads themselves can still irritate viewers who’d rather not see them.
Moral and Ethical Quandaries: Should Chatbots Promote Products?
Introducing advertising in AI chatbots raises more than just user experience questions. It also brings up moral and ethical dilemmas about promoting products during what often feels like a personal conversation. AI assistants aren’t simply websites or videos; they’re systems we interact with in real time, often trusting them with questions we’d rather not share publicly.
This means chatbots can gather a lot of personal data, from our shopping habits to our health concerns. If adverts are inserted based on that data, it’s easy to imagine a world where suggestions get intrusive or insensitive. Picture chatting with an AI about managing anxiety, only to be shown adverts for pricey wellness products. Or asking for budgeting advice and receiving suggestions for dubious financial services. The line between helpful recommendations and unwanted meddling could get blurred. There is already plenty of concern about how chatbots use private information. Introducing advertising would only amplify those concerns.
There’s also the question of transparency. When we get adverts in search results, it’s fairly obvious which links are ads and which are organic content, largely because they’re labelled as “sponsored.” But in a chatbot that responds in a conversational style, might it be harder to distinguish between an honest suggestion and a paid promotion? Google has already tried to address this by marking search-based adverts with a “sponsored” label, so perhaps we’d see something similar in chatbots. Even if these labels are clear, though, there’s still a risk that unsuspecting users might not notice them.
In-Context Advertising: A Useful Tool or a Slippery Slope?
One argument is that adverts within AI chatbots don’t have to be all bad. If done correctly, in-context advertising could actually be helpful for people who want relevant recommendations without having to do extra digging. For example, if someone is using an online casino and chatting with an AI about which games they might like, it could be convenient to see a carefully curated list of new slot machines based on games they’ve already played. We can imagine whole new casino sites built around this idea. Provided everything is clearly labelled as an advert, it might feel more like a personalised suggestion than an annoying pop-up.
The same logic could apply to a range of other scenarios. Someone chatting with AI about holiday destinations might genuinely appreciate a discounted hotel deal, as long as it’s properly flagged as a promotion. In these cases, adverts could be more of a service than a nuisance, especially if they’re shown infrequently and with full transparency.
Still, the hurdle is ensuring the system remains respectful of users’ privacy. Chatbots can feel like personal assistants, so when adverts break that trust by appearing pushy or insensitive, the fallout can be big. Striking the right balance between offering genuinely helpful suggestions and annoying people with sales tactics is going to be an ongoing challenge.
Where Do We Go From Here?
As we look to the future, it’s obvious that tech giants like Google must find ways to keep AI assistants financially viable. Running data centres, developing AI models, and paying for networking infrastructure costs a fortune. Google’s plan to invest £75 billion this year alone speaks volumes about the scale of this endeavour.
Advertising is an obvious way to offset these expenses, and Google has a long history of using adverts to support its free services. But the question at the heart of this debate is whether, when integrated into something as personal as an AI chatbot, adverts become more than just an annoyance. Could they manipulate decisions, push products that aren’t in users’ best interests, or diminish trust in the chatbot itself?
For now, Google seems committed to treading carefully. Based on what Pichai has said, we’re unlikely to see ad-laden chatbots in 2025. Instead, the company is focusing on subscriptions and refining the user experience. However, it’s reasonable to assume that adverts will show up in some form down the line, potentially in a similar style to how Google added adverts to its AI Overviews in search results back in October 2024, where “sponsored” suggestions appear in a separate section.
In the end, the answer to our opening question—“Is this the next tech nightmare?”—might depend more on how these companies handle the moral and ethical issues, rather than the simple presence of adverts. If Google and other AI developers continue to think about the implications for privacy, personal data, and user trust, then chatbots with adverts could be just another tool that supports free access and innovative features. But if they don’t, we may find ourselves looking back on this moment as the start of something we wish we’d avoided.
