By Anu Adegbola
Publication Date: 2026-01-21 16:20:00
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says Gemini won’t get ads — at least for now — as Google prioritizes trust and core assistant quality over monetization.
What’s new. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Hassabis said Google has “no plans” to introduce ads into Gemini, emphasizing a focus on building a better, more capable assistant across use cases and form factors. He suggested that monetization can wait while the technology matures.
The contrast. The comments come just days after OpenAI announced it would begin testing ads in the free and low-cost tiers of ChatGPT. Hassabis called the move “interesting,” suggesting it may reflect revenue pressure rather than long-term product strategy.
Why we care. Google’s repeated refusal to place ads in Gemini signals that AI assistant monetization won’t mirror search or social anytime soon, limiting near-term ad inventory in conversational AI. As competitors like OpenAI move ahead with…