[simonw]

I've not seen any evidence that these were ads and not "tips".

Ads implies someone was paying for them. Promoting internal product features is not the same thing - if it was then every piece of software that shows a tip would be an ad product, and would be regulated as such.

[iso1631]

When apple puts an advert for an apple show in front of for all mankind, that's an advert.

Maybe I put up with it and it just adds to my subconscious seething, or maybe I get the episode elsewhere because if I watch on jellyfin I don't have the advert. Of course that then harms the show as my viewing isn't counted, but they've cancelled it anyway so perhaps it doesn't really matter.

If it isn't an advert, then at very least there's a button to disable it.

[isjciwjdieh]

What? For All Mankind wasn’t cancelled.

Season 5 is coming out now with season 6 already confirmed coming—which, granted, will be its last, but that’s not a cancellation in any sense of the word.

[iso1631]

"not renewed" or "cancelled" is the same thing

[wat10000]

I could buy it if this was just being shown to the person who was using Copilot. Hey, here's a feature you might like. Seems OK. But it was put into the PR description. That gets seen by potentially many people, who are not necessarily using Copilot.

[matt_kantor]

> Ads implies someone was paying for them.

It doesn't to me.

By my understanding of the term, Netflix can most definitely advertise Netflix shows on its own platform, a flyer that a barber hangs on a public bulletin board is an advertisement, and the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile is advertising hotdogs when it drives through my town. Do you not consider these things to be advertisements?

I pretty much agree with what https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/advertisement says.

[simonw]

I think this particular story is a very different scandal if it turns out GitHub were charging other companies money in exchange for having Copilot include promotions for their products in PRs as opposed to Copilot adding uncompensated usage "tips" to those PRs.

[matt_kantor]

I agree with that.

Two things:

1. People using the word "advertisement" when commenting on this situation aren't necessarily saying that's what's happening, and they may find these tips/ads distasteful anyway (I know I do).

2. Even if someone isn't literally paying Microsoft to insert these tips/ads, promoting third parties which are themselves Microsoft customers still benefits Microsoft.

[johnnyanmac]

ads usually implied a financial incentive. But that's not always the case. Technically, if I was to praise someone's blog and link to it, that would also be an ad.

Ads tend to also imply tangential information shown to you in an undesired area. If this was some tool tip and not embedded in the PR comment, many wouldn't call it an ad.