If you run the models locally, you can avoid ads. There are some apps out there on githup that allow to run ai models on android phones.

imho, the hosted solution will always be better, the major players will offer better integrated chat, and they'll have budgets to do so, as long as advertising income is available

Sure. But then you are paying via hardware. Good models require a beefy machine.

Wouldn’t be surprised to see paid downloadable models in the future either.