Markey Probes AI Companies on Their Plans to Roll Out Advertising in AI Chatbots

Urges transparency from OpenAI on its announcement that the company will deploy advertisements in ChatGPT

Letter Text (PDF)

Boston (January 22, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today wrote to CEOs of seven major tech companies-Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc. and Google; Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; Even Spiegel, CEO of Snap Inc.; and Elon Musk, CEO of xAI-urging details on how the companies will protect their users from manipulation and exploitation if the companies plan to integrate advertising into their AI chatbots. On January 16, OpenAI announced that it will begin testing advertising in its AI chatbot, ChatGPT. Users deserve transparency about tech companies' plans, if any, to incorporate advertising into their AI chatbots and implement safeguards to protect their users from manipulation and exploitation.

In the letters, Senator Markey wrote, "Due to the conversational nature of chatbots - which are designed to mimic human-like interactions - AI chatbot ads could be woven directly into the flow of the conversation, potentially appearing identical to any other AI chatbot response. This practice raises urgent questions about manipulation, the potential for covert commercial influence, and user privacy. Advertising within AI chatbots poses unique risks of manipulation, especially among young users, for two reasons. First, AI chatbots are designed to imitate natural, human-like interactions and often become a source of companionship for users. Introducing advertising into such a dynamic could allow companies to prey on the very relationships their systems have fostered. Second, companies may disguise advertisements within a conversation, preventing users from recognizing them. This so-called blurred advertising-which the FTC warned about in its Protecting Kids from Stealth Advertising in Digital Media report-can be particularly manipulative for children and teens."

Senator Markey continued, "As chatbots become spaces where users share personal thoughts, health questions, family issues, and other sensitive information, companies must not repurpose those exchanges to inform advertising or steer users toward commercial outcomes. This risk is especially acute for children and teens, who may not fully understand how companies collect or use their data, and who should not be subjected to targeted advertising. Any effort to leverage conversational data for commercial purposes would represent a profound intrusion on privacy and undermine the trust users place in these AI chatbots."

Senator Markey requests answers from OpenAI by February 12, 2026, to questions including:

1. As part of OpenAI's testing of advertisements in Chat GPT, please describe the process for determining which users will see them.
2. How will OpenAI ensure that ChatGPT will not advertise to users during sensitive conversations, such as those about health, mental health or politics?
3. For advertising purposes, will OpenAI process information collected from sensitive conversations, such as those about health, mental health or politics?
4. Has OpenAI entered into, or does it intend to enter into, any commercial agreements, for advertising purposes, that would influence how ChatGPT is trained or recommends products or services?

Senator Markey requests answers from Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap Inc, and X by February 12, 2026, to questions including:

1. Does [the company] intend to include advertisements, product placements, endorsements or any other paid product or service recommendations into [the AI chatbot]?
2. Has [the company] entered into, or does it intend to enter into, any commercial agreements, for advertising purposes, that would influence how its chatbot is trained or recommends products or services?
3. Does [the company] use, or plan to use, the content of users' conversations, including sensitive or personal information, to inform its advertising?
4. Does [the company] use, or plan to use, data collected outside of user conversations with an AI chatbot, including data collected from social media feeds and searches, to inform its advertising?
5. Has your company conducted internal testing or auditing to ensure that chatbot recommendations are not misleading or manipulative or violate user privacy?
6. How will [the company] ensure that users can easily distinguish neutral conversations from advertising while using [the AI chatbot]?
7. Will [the company] commit to not displaying advertisements, product placements, endorsements or any other paid product or service recommendations in [the AI chatbot] to children and teens?

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