AI's Screen Time: The Hidden Laws of Desire and Capital
Henry Kim ·
Last week, I saw news that Anthropic indirectly jabbed at OpenAI by stating they wouldn't advertise, in the context of the Super Bowl. The gist was simple: "We will not advertise." While they likely intended to emphasize their reliability as an enterprise AI, this bold declaration gave me a strange sense of déjà vu. Can they truly stick to this promise? Or will they regret this moment far down the line? Because in a capitalist market, nothing is as precarious as the word 'never'.
The essence of marketing is ultimately about capture. It's a battle for how much of the consumer's time you can seize. In that sense, media screen time is power. Look where people's attention is focused right now. It's rapidly shifting from search bars to chat windows, from web surfing to conversations with AI. I dare say, the screen time for AI platforms has likely increased far more explosively than we can imagine.
As a marketer, I've already started pondering: "How can I naturally expose my brand within this new AI space?" As AI's influence grows, companies' desire for exposure will inevitably increase proportionally. It's particularly important to note that the order of the search and commerce markets is being reorganized around AI. When a user asks AI, "Recommend a graduation gift," whether my brand is included in the answer becomes a matter of survival.
Of course, Sam Altman recently emphatically stated via a tweet that "we will not put ads in conversational answers." However, considering the massive $500 billion investment flowing into the AI industry and the astronomical operating costs, it's almost impossible to sustain this bubble with subscriptions alone. Companies ultimately need to make money, and the most efficient revenue model has historically proven to be 'advertising'.
The form may differ. Instead of cluttered banners like in the past, it might take the form of a sophisticated suggestion: "This product is most suitable for you." Or it could approach us in the guise of B2B services or commerce agents. Anthropic says they won't advertise? Well, there's no trend that goes against human desire and the flow of capital. We are currently on Galileo's ship. Though the ship seems still, we are already sailing into a vast ocean of commercialization.