Microsoft starts testing ads in the Windows 11 Start menu | Hacker News

If I’m not mistaken, it’s illegal in the US to place advertisements alongside content without distinguishing them. I don’t see a marker in the screenshot; is this simply a problem with the beta?

The article calls them ads, but in the linked blog post by Microsoft only calls them "recommended apps". There's a difference between the two, and the latter doesn't have to be marked as sponsored if Microsoft is coming up with the recommendation themselves.