Netflix to Introduce AI-Generated Ads in 2026

Netflix has announced that it will introduce AI-generated advertising, including the much-discussed pause ads, within its programming on the ad-supported tier starting in 2026. According to Media Play News, the specifics of how these ads will target viewers remain unclear. Will they be personalized based on viewing history, or will they relate to the content being watched at the time? Currently, there is little information available on the backend operations or the presentation of these ads, but their arrival is confirmed.

At the recent Upfront for advertisers event in New York City, Amy Reinhard, President of Advertising at Netflix, highlighted the company's unique strengths. "Either they have great technology, or they have great entertainment," she said. "Our superpower has always been the fact that we have both." Reinhard emphasized that Netflix's ad-supported tier subscribers engage more deeply with the platform, watching an average of 41 hours of content per month. Kotaku calculated that this translates to approximately three hours of ads per month for these viewers, a significant amount even without AI integration. However, by 2026, these ads will indeed be powered by AI.

Reinhard also noted that when compared to competitors, Netflix's viewers start with higher attention levels and maintain them throughout their viewing experience. Impressively, subscribers pay as much attention to mid-roll ads as they do to the shows and movies themselves. While Netflix has not yet provided an official implementation date for this change, the integration of AI-generated ads is set to transform the viewing experience on the ad-supported tier.