I don't see an ad in my graphics driver. Even update notifications are optional.
When I open steam, it is because I'm thinking of gaming and most often, I'm hoping for a game deal popup.
Though, I'd love to not require opening Steam when I just want to play a game.
And that's why I'm willing to forego regional pricing and pay almost 4x for GoG games, at least for games I feel like I will be playing for a long time.