Netflix has announced plans to introduce AI-generated advertising, including pause ads, within its programming on the ad-supported tier starting in 2026. This development, first reported by Media Play News, leaves many questions unanswered about how these ads will be targeted and presented. It remains unclear whether the ads will be personalized based on viewers' watch history or tailored to the content being watched at the time. As of now, the specifics of how these ads will function behind the scenes are still under wraps.
At a recent Upfront event for advertisers in New York City, Netflix's President of Advertising, Amy Reinhard, highlighted the company's unique position. "Either they have great technology, or they have great entertainment," she stated. "Our superpower has always been the fact that we have both." Reinhard emphasized that Netflix's ad-supported tier subscribers are highly engaged, watching an average of 41 hours of content per month. Kotaku calculated that this equates to approximately three hours of ads per month, a significant amount even without the integration of AI.
Reinhard also noted that viewers on the ad-supported tier pay as much attention to mid-roll ads as they do to the shows and movies themselves, suggesting a high level of engagement with the advertising content. While Netflix has yet to announce an official implementation date for these AI-generated ads, the change is expected to roll out in 2026.
