OpenAI is planning to run a Super Bowl ad again this year — reportedly shelling out millions of dollars in an effort to win the budding AI wars.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing “people familiar with the matter,” that the company was set to purchase a 60-second ad during the big game in February. That is surely an expensive decision from OpenAI.
Variety reported that Super Bowl 2026 commercials had sold out before the NFL season even started, with NBCUniversal — this year’s broadcaster — seeking $7 million per 30-second ad. Peter Lazarus, executive vice president at NBC Sports & Olympics, said at the time that “Super Bowl LX has generated extraordinary interest from brands and allowed us to sell out of our ad inventory earlier than ever.”
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So, clearly, OpenAI would have paid a pretty penny to advertise during the big game. This follows the company running an ad in last year’s Super Bowl. That ad featured an amorphous blob that eventually formed into people asking ChatGPT questions, while explicitly comparing the advent of AI to the discovery of fire and flying to the moon.
We don’t yet know what OpenAI’s ad for the 2026 Super Bowl will look like, but we don’t have long to wait. The big game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
