I have no idea whether I get ads or not, because I have both uBlock origin installed, and a massive /etc/hosts file that blocks just about anything ad-related.
But I've seen clear evidence when I visit sites that manage to do self-hosted targetted "presentations" that they are getting data from Google, and given that I have no cell phone, I'm fairly sure one important source for that is my gmail account.
I pay for ad-free YouTube and YouTube music premium. It’s possible to make any fees for service a fee for something other than service. “You’re not paying for YouTube you’re paying to not see ads on YouTube”.
You’re not paying for gmail, you’re paying for removing ads in gmail, so you can still be analyzed and tracked, etc.
GSuite and Youtube play by very different rules, though. Youtube is a consumer product and privacy legislation unfortunately doesn't have much in the way of teeth. GSuite is a business product, and there's many industries they'd like to serve that are fairly strict about data breaches.
The ads on YouTube pay for YouTube. If I’m paying for YouTube and not seeing ads, I’m paying for YouTube. Playing semantic word games saying ‘you’re paying to not see ads, the ads that pay for the service’ is just word games.
If they have to be legislated into not spying on the users then it just proves the article’s point.
I'd guess Gmail etc. involve lawyers in marketing, so the focus shifts from "what is valuable enough to have a market" to "what is legal enough to get away with it".
You can't pay for GMail unless you're part of Workspaces (GSuite). Am I still the product in GSuite? Well I don't get ads so... maybe not?