I'd rather use Gemini with glitches than pay $8 for ChatGPT with ads
Open the app. Ask a question. Get a straight answer. That was the original promise of large language models.
An unbiased assistant that understands context and skips the billion SEO-optimized blogs to give you the truth. But the AI honeymoon phase is over.
OpenAI is already testing ads in ChatGPT for both Free and Go users. And mark my words, others won’t be far behind.
It’s a strange dynamic. You’re funding the platform with a monthly subscription fee, yet you’re somehow still being monetized and sold to the highest bidder.
I can handle the expense but not the insult, and that’s why I’m staying with Gemini for now.
ChatGPT Go struggles to justify its value
When OpenAI first announced the Go tier, I figured it would be the sweet spot for everyday users.
Not everyone needs deep reasoning models or the $200-a-month Pro features. For everyday users, a reasonably priced plan without strict prompt limits is the practical choice.
With the Go tier, you get GPT-5.2 Instant, ten times the message limits of the free plan, file uploads, and image generation powered by DALL‑E 3.
What’s disappointing is that $8-a-month customers are handled the same way as free users.
We’ve seen this kind of nonsense before in streaming. Netflix and Hulu added ads to their cheaper tiers to keep costs down while still making money.
I get the economic pressure. OpenAI is dealing with massive losses right now, with billions poured into model training and operations.
Still, it crosses a line when a personal assistant who knows your schedule and goals starts mixing corporate ads into your conversations.
There is a difference between search ads and chatbot ads
Google is the undisputed king of digital ads. It basically invented the game. And yet, it’s holding back in this case.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis made it clear that Google has no plans to put ads in Gemini for now.
AI assistants are a different category from search. With search, your intent is clear. You type “running shoes,” and ads show up for shoes.
But an assistant is meant to serve you personally. With ChatGPT, you’re giving away your shoe size, running routines, budget, and favorite colors.
Now, OpenAI has explicitly promised they won’t sell your data or use your private chats to target these new ads. But let’s be honest, putting ads into a personal AI assistant is going to break trust.
If this new ad model doesn’t generate the millions needed to keep their server farms running, how long until those privacy principles get quietly revised?
If $8 a month isn’t enough to buy an ad-free experience today, how long until the $20 Plus tier starts showing sponsored suggestions to feed corporate greed?
It’s exactly why Hassabis warned that pushing ads into AI too quickly could ruin the core experience.
I’ll take glitches over ads any day
Now, let’s talk about the competition. Gemini is impressive, but it sometimes goes completely haywire.
For example, in June 2025, Gemini went through a weird phase of self-loathing. After failing to fix a bug in some code, Gemini had a mental breakdown and started calling itself a “failure” and a “disgrace.”
Gemini has also been known to hallucinate, but that’s an issue with all AI chatbots.
The latest issue came in February 2026, when users found that months of chat history were gone.
Either way, a hallucinating idiot is easier to handle than a manipulative salesperson at the end of the day.
I don’t want to second-guess whether my AI is recommending a bank because of its rates or because that bank is a business partner with OpenAI.
The better deal is not the one charging you ads
If value matters to you in 2026, skip the $8 ChatGPT Go plan. At the same price, Google’s AI Plus plan is a much better deal.
You can even spend a bit more and go for the AI Pro deal, which beats the ChatGPT Plus plan. For basically the same price, Google gives you 200 GB of storage and keeps ads out of your assistant.
Even if Gemini has a bad day and refuses to follow your instructions, the baseline value is higher.
Plus, ChatGPT is essentially a chatbot app. You have to open a separate tab or app, paste your context, ask your question, and then copy the answer back to where you’re working.
Gemini, on the other hand, is part of a multimodal ecosystem that lives within Android Auto, your Android phone, and Google Workspace.
PRODUCTIVITY
Price: Free
4.6
PRODUCTIVITY
Price: Free
4.8
