ChatGPT vs Claude: Which AI is Winning the PR War?

OpenAI and Anthropic are locked in a high stakes rivalry, and the fallout is hurting public trust in AI overall. In this episode, the "We Fixed It, You're Welcome" panel (Aaron Wolpoff, Melissa Eaton, and Chino) sits down with veteran tech PR strategist Perry Headrick to unpack whether the ChatGPT vs Claude rivalry is a branding win or a trust disaster. With over 20 years of experience representing brands like AOL, Bing, Yelp, and Logitech, Perry brings sharp, no nonsense insight into why both AI giants are missing the mark with everyday users, and what they need to do to fix it.

Guest Bio

Perry Headrick is the founder of Crackle PR, a B2B tech focused communications agency working with startups through publicly traded companies. He also co-hosts the Under Embargo podcast alongside Becca Chambers, CMO at Scale Ventures. Perry brings decades of experience in media strategy, reputation management, and crisis control.

Key Topics Discussed

Why only 17% of Americans trust the people running major AI companies, and 40% consider them untrustworthy

The origin of the OpenAI vs Anthropic rivalry, born from a philosophical split within OpenAI

How the Super Bowl ad wars and competitive digs are backfiring on both brands

The psychology of "AI dread" and why fear, not excitement, dominates public perception

Why AI companies make themselves the star instead of the customer

Perry's real world examples: turning heads at a local Chinese restaurant with an AI generated photo, and using AI to pick better golf clubs

The case for radical transparency over "promiseware" and vague grandiosity

Why sycophantic AI responses (agreeing with everything, false reassurances) erode user trust