ChatGPT ads change the relationship between an AI assistant and the person using it. In this AI Power Move video, Heather Baker breaks down the best-case and worst-case outcomes of ads inside conversational AI - looking at the story from both the optimistic and the pessimistic point of view. From the optimistic view, advertising creates a repeatable revenue stream to fund expensive frontier models and safety work. It could also subsidise access, keeping high-quality AI available to people who can’t afford paid tiers. Heather also explores the argument that a conversational interface might give small businesses a fairer shot than search or social, because user intent and relevance can matter more than pure budget.From the pessimistic view, the story looks familiar. Ad auctions tend to get more expensive over time, and the platform captures the upside. More importantly, once money enters the conversation, recommendations can start to feel suspect: is a suggestion there because it’s the best option, or because someone paid? Heather also digs into the surveillance concern: ads need targeting, and in a chat interface, the targeting signal is what people type and say - including sensitive, high-trust topics.The core question is simple: can an AI assistant be a trusted thinking partner and an ad-driven marketplace at the same time? Let me know where you land in the comments.Links:AI Edit: https://www.theaiedit.ai/ (for all my content on AI concepts explained easily)OpenAI: Our approach to advertising and expanding access: https://openai.com/index/our-approach-to-advertising-and-expanding-access/Can OpenAI be trusted? With great power comes great responsibility: https://www.thehumansintheloop.ai/p/openai-and-anthropic-want-your-medical

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