Netflix To Push AI Ads From 2026, Users Say, "Is This A Black Mirror Episode?"

Netflix will start to show generative artificial intelligence (AI) ads to viewers starting in 2026, the streaming giant announced on Thursday (May 15), during its annual Upfront event. Informing the advertisers, Netflix announced it had created interactive mid-roll ads and pause ads that incorporate generative AI, claiming it would create a "relevant" viewing experience for the customers.

The AI-generated ads will have added overlays, call to action, second screen buttons, and more to serve the "right ad to the right member at the right time".

"Netflix debuted a new modular framework for ad formats that leverages generative AI to instantly marry advertisers' ads with the worlds of our shows. This will create a better, more relevant experience for our members and drive the best results," the company said.

The streaming company launched its ad subscription service in November 2022, having ended last year with 301 million subscribers. Amy Reinhard, president of advertising at Netflix said ad-supported subscribers spent almost 41 hours a month on the platform.

“When you compare us to our competitors, attention starts higher and ends much higher. And even more impressive, members pay as much attention to mid-roll ads as they do to the shows and movies themselves,” Ms Reinhard said.

“So if you take away anything from today, I hope it's this: the foundation of our ads business is in place. And going forward, the pace of progress is going to be even faster,” she added.

Social media reacts

The majority of social media users reacted angrily to the news, stating that the streaming platforms were taking the users for granted. 

"Are they testing new black mirror episode ideas on us now?" said one user, while another added: "They already raised their prices. Now they want MORE revenue by using AI ads? Go away, Netflix."

A third commented: "At this point, they are nudging us to go alternative routes of streaming."

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Meta to change AI industry?

Netflix is not the only company aiming to increase revenues via AI advertising. Earlier this month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that his company was looking to take over the entire advertising process, right from designing creatives to writing copies to pushing them to the right audience demographic.

"We're going to get to a point where you're a business, you come to us, you tell us what your objective is, you connect to your bank account, you don't need any creative, you don't need any targeting demographic, you don't need any measurement, except to be able to read the results that we spit out. I think that's going to be huge, I think it is a redefinition of the category of advertising," said Mr Zuckerberg.

Meta has been investing heavily in AI advertising products to ace the market. In the last quarter, the company implemented a new recommendation model for reels that has increased conversion rates by five per cent. Additionally, over 30 per cent of Meta customers are now using AI tools to develop creatives.