Apple on Tuesday announced that it will begin to allow advertisers to target customers on Apple Maps, starting in the U.S. and Canada later this summer. The ads will be available to any size business that has a physical location and has already created a business listing on Apple Maps. Users, meanwhile, will see the ads appear next to relevant search results.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/24/apple-maps-ads-apple-business/
Ads have officially arrived, at least in my ChatGPT account. They're larger than expected, and often not relevant to the conversation.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/im-seeing-ads-in-chatgpt-openai-broke-its-promise-what-they-look-like
Last year’s Super Bowl featured a Google Gemini ad that fumbled a Gouda cheese stat, and this year’s game is already slated to include an ad for Anthropic’s AI platform that takes jabs at its competitors, namely OpenAI. AI-generated ads could make an appearance, too.
https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/874504/super-bowl-lx-ads-big-game
The AI giant announced Friday that it will begin testing ads within the Free and Go tiers of ChatGPT in the “coming weeks,” marking a watershed moment for the world’s most popular AI chatbot as it adopts a traditional monetization approach. Ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service tied to the ongoing conversation, the company said in a blog post.
https://www.adweek.com/media/openai-chatgpt-ads-sponsored-products/?itm_source=homepage&itm_medium=post-teaser-center&itm_campaign=1
Samsung confirmed today that it is showing advertisements on some US customers’ smart fridges. Samsung said the ads showing on some Family Hub-series fridges are part of a pilot program, but we suspect that they may become more permanent additions to Samsung fridges and/or other types of screen-equipped smart home appliances.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/09/samsung-forces-ads-onto-fridges-is-a-bad-sign-for-other-appliances/
Glance AI, a brand owned by mobile advertising company InMobi, has announced a partnership with the Samsung Galaxy Store to roll out its e-commerce platform to Galaxy phones in the US. The company’s app centers around what it calls “a Generative AI shopping platform,” which is a serious contender for the most cursed phrase I’ve read today. The “experience” comprises both a standalone app and a lock screen component to try and sell you clothes. Crucially, the whole thing is “fully opt-in,” which, thank Christ. But even if you opt out — which you absolutely should! — this feels like a sign of things to come as advertisers try to leverage AI to sell us more stuff. Buckle up.
https://www.theverge.com/news/679541/samsung-galaxy-glance-ai-lock-screen-app
Reports of Roku customers seeing video ads automatically play before they could view the OS’ home screen started appearing online this week. A Reddit user, for example, posted yesterday: “I just turned on my Roku and got an … ad for a movie, before I got to the regular Roku home screen.” Multiple apparent users reported seeing an ad for the movie Moana 2. The ads have a close option, but some users appear to have not seen it.
https://www.wired.com/story/roku-tests-showing-video-ads-before-the-home-screen-loads/