Welcome to an era of artificial intermissions. In a not-so-surprising turn of events, it seems as though streaming giant Netflix is currently testing both the quantity and nature of the advertisements showcased across its ad subscription tier. Yesterday, Netflix’s President of Advertisement Amy Reinhard announced “a new modular framework for ad formats that leverages generative AI to instantly marry advertisers’ ads with the worlds of our shows,” that is set to debut in 2026.

How will this work? The streaming platform claims that this new ad format will create a “more relevant” experience for users, showcasing ads that tie into the content offered on the platform in the form of AI-generated “interactive midroll and pause formats that build custom advertising creative with added overlays, call to action, second screen buttons, and more,” the statement read. TL;DR: You may be forced to interact with the ads instead of just wait them out. Earlier in July 2024, Netflix had begun testing pause ads — advertisements that display as soon as you take a break.

Around 100 mn subscribers should expect to encounter these AI-backed ads by the time they roll out. As of May 2025, Netflix’s ad-supported subscription tier recorded 94 mn subscribers globally, up from 70 mn users in November 2024, according to Reuters, and more than double the 40 mn recorded in May 2024. The steadily increasing percentage of Netflix users opting for ads for a less expensive (but consistently rising) monthly subscription is no doubt an incentive for the streaming giant to double down on its advertising strategy.

The news follows the launch of Netflix’s own in-house advertising platform, Netflix Ads Suite, last month. Netflix has also revealed plans to launch across Europe next week, and in 12 countries by June 2025, with further expansions over the coming years, according to Ars Technica.

Advertising brings in the big bucks. In 2024, EnterpriseAM reported that the advertising industry broke records, seeing as non-political advertising revenues were expected to hit USD 1 tn for the very first time. This on-going boom is largely due to the advancements in AI-automations, which have been leading to faster, more intelligent, and more efficient ads, particularly in digital spaces such as Netflix.

What won’t be AI in the future? There’s already a growing concern about the nature of the content available on the internet. The Dead Internet Theory — which theorizes that most of the content and activity we see on the internet is populated by bots — has never been closer to reality. With Amazon shifting gears towards AI-generated audiobooks on Audible, SoundCloud following suit, and even Duolingo using AI to create language courses, the question of how involved AI will be in our day to day lives is swiftly being answered — and it’s not looking good.

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