Ads in AI Chatbots? An Analysis of How Large Language Models Navigate Conflicts of Interest

Excerpt

arXiv:2604.08525v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are trained to align with user preferences through methods like reinforcement learning. Yet models are beginning to be deployed not solely to satisfy users, but to generate revenue for the companies that created them through advertisements. This creates the potential for LLMs to face conflicts of interest, where the most beneficial response to a user may not be aligned with the company's incentives. For instance, a