If people hate ads, what hope is there for adtech—an industry built to enable… ads?

That’s the uncomfortable question the industry should be asking itself. Consider last week, when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman seemed to finally put some respect on advertising’s name—sort of.

In an interview on the Stratechery podcast, Altman, who in March dismissed ad revenue as “some number of dimes” (never mind that Meta’s entire business runs on it), softened his stance slightly. He said he liked Instagram ads and could imagine OpenAI creating “some cool ad product” someday—though he stopped short of any commitment.

It was, at best, a small win for advertising—albeit a deeply awkward one. Altman seems disgusted by ads. You can hear the cringe in his voice whenever the topic comes up. He sounds like a consumer reluctantly agreeing to an ad-supported streaming plan: sure, he’ll tolerate it if he must, but it’s not the ideal.

And that’s the core problem the ad and adtech industries need to face. People—Altman as a stand-in—just don’t like ads. They understand the trade-off (“I watch, I get free”), but they don’t enjoy the experience. That’s not just an indictment of how ads have historically looked and felt—it’s an indictment of their value.

The exception Altman cites, Instagram ads, works because they’re well-designed and meaningfully targeted. They connect your interests to the ads you see. That’s what makes them feel relevant. It’s what makes them feel valuable.

At some point, the industry needs to be honest with itself and consumers: ads have been bad for a long time, but they don’t have to be. With advances in AI, they can be good—and we, as an industry, will do better. The IAB, ANA, or some trade group should own that message and lead with a “we will improve” narrative.

Because until the industry confronts this perception head-on, adtech will keep facing the same painful cycle—more onerous regulation, more skepticism, more negative press. It’s hard to win public trust when the product you enable is something people seem to fundamentally dislike.

👉 Building your adtech company’s PR program? Contact adtech PR expert Chris Harihar on X (@chrisharihar), LinkedIn, or by email. 

Chris is a 15-year adtech PR expert who has helped leading companies go public and guided up-and-comers to break through in a crowded market. Clients include DoubleVerify, Yahoo DSP, and more.