Advertising has long been the least-loved part of watching television. Commercial breaks interrupt stories, dilute experiences, and at times feel like an endless loop of noise. Now, according to recent comments from Roku’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Dan Jedda, the landscape of TV ads is on the verge of an even bigger transformation. If Roku’s vision holds, the age of limited, high-production commercials from major brands may soon give way to an overwhelming flood of AI-generated ads—produced at lightning speed by small and mid-sized businesses eager to carve out a place on your screen.
The company’s pitch is simple: democratize television advertising. Where once only the world’s largest advertisers had the budgets to produce sleek commercials, artificial intelligence could put those tools in the hands of hundreds of thousands of small businesses. But while this move could unlock new opportunities, it also raises serious questions about quality, user experience, and the integrity of the TV viewing environment.
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Roku’s Vision: From 200 Advertisers to 100,000
Speaking at a Citi investor conference, Jedda highlighted Roku’s ambition to drastically expand the number of advertisers using its platform.
“No longer is it going to be about the top 200 advertisers,” Jedda explained. “It’s going to be about 100,000 advertisers.”
At the heart of this expansion is generative AI. By using AI-driven tools, businesses that once lacked the financial and creative resources to produce TV spots can now create a professional-looking ad in minutes.
Jedda framed this as an opportunity for the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market, which he says has historically been shut out of the connected TV (CTV) ecosystem. Tools powered by AI could not only reduce production costs but also streamline ad-buying, allowing businesses to compete in a space once dominated by corporate giants.
Why Small Businesses Are the Target
Traditional television advertising has long been the exclusive domain of brands with deep pockets. Producing, editing, and distributing commercials is an expensive process, often involving production crews, actors, and months of planning. For the average neighborhood restaurant, boutique store, or local car dealership, TV advertising has simply been out of reach.
AI could change that. With generative models capable of creating voiceovers, animations, and even human-like actors, a mom-and-pop shop could produce a 30-second ad in an afternoon without ever hiring a production company.
This lowering of the barrier to entry is precisely what Roku is betting on. If small businesses currently spend most of their digital ad budgets on search engines and social media platforms, Roku wants to redirect a portion of that spend into television.
Self-Serve Tools and Automation
One part of Roku’s plan is to make ad buying as seamless as possible. Self-serve tools already exist in the digital ad world—think Google Ads or Facebook Ads Manager—and Roku aims to bring that model to television.
Instead of negotiating with ad agencies, small businesses could log into Roku’s platform, set a budget, select an audience, and upload (or generate) a commercial in minutes. The ad would then appear across Roku-powered TVs and devices, reaching local or targeted audiences in ways that social media cannot.
This self-service, AI-enabled model could represent a major shift in how connected TV inventory is sold. It also mirrors broader industry trends: platforms are racing to capture SMB ad budgets, which collectively represent billions of dollars annually.
The Viewer’s Perspective: A Potential Flood of Low-Quality Ads
While Roku’s vision may excite small business owners and investors, the prospect is far less thrilling for viewers. Television audiences are accustomed to a certain standard of production quality. Even when commercials are repetitive or annoying, they are often polished, scripted, and designed by professionals.
Generative AI has not yet achieved that standard. Viewers familiar with AI-generated media know the risks: distorted human figures, uncanny voiceovers, and surreal imagery that can feel more unsettling than persuasive.
Jedda himself acknowledged the speed of production, boasting that with AI you can have a “well-produced commercial” up and running in minutes. But “well-produced” is a subjective term—one that AI often struggles to live up to.
The fear is clear: instead of 200 ads from major brands, audiences could soon be inundated with tens of thousands of AI-driven spots, many of them awkward, jarring, or outright bizarre.
Lessons From Recent AI Ad Experiments
AI-generated commercials have already started trickling into the real world. One example that gained attention was an ad for Kalshi, an online prediction market. While the spot wasn’t a total disaster, it left many viewers feeling unsettled—a reminder that AI’s attempts at human likeness can be more eerie than engaging.
Worse examples abound online, with AI-generated videos producing characters with too many fingers, warped facial expressions, and stilted dialogue. These glitches might seem amusing in a casual context, but when inserted into a primetime TV experience, they could feel intrusive, distracting, and even nightmarish.
Advertising Fatigue in the Age of Streaming
The bigger issue may not be AI’s imperfections but advertising fatigue. Viewers are already inundated with ads across digital platforms. Streaming was once considered an escape—a premium alternative to ad-saturated cable television. But in recent years, services from Netflix to Disney+ have rolled out ad-supported tiers, while platforms like Hulu, Peacock, and Roku have leaned heavily on ad revenue to support their business models.
Adding tens of thousands of AI-generated ads to this mix risks creating a saturation point where viewers feel overwhelmed, potentially undermining Roku’s brand and driving users to ad-free alternatives.
The Business Case for Roku
From Roku’s perspective, however, the business logic is compelling.
- Revenue Expansion: Opening ad slots to SMBs dramatically increases the pool of potential advertisers.
- Diversification: By relying less on major advertisers, Roku reduces its dependence on a handful of large corporate clients.
- AI Efficiency: Generative tools lower costs and streamline workflows, making advertising more scalable.
- Market Capture: If Roku can position itself as the go-to platform for local businesses, it could carve out a unique space in the competitive streaming ad market.
In other words, Roku’s move isn’t just about technology—it’s about securing long-term growth in an industry where margins are under constant pressure.
Risks and Challenges
Still, the risks are significant.
- Viewer Backlash: A flood of low-quality ads could harm Roku’s reputation and drive audiences away.
- Brand Safety: AI-generated content can be unpredictable. Mistakes, offensive imagery, or misleading claims could slip through.
- Regulatory Scrutiny: Governments are increasingly monitoring AI-generated content, particularly when it comes to advertising accuracy and consumer protection.
- Advertiser Skepticism: Small businesses may be hesitant to invest in ads that risk looking unprofessional or alienating their customers.
Could AI Advertising Actually Work?
The optimists argue that AI is improving rapidly. Within a few years, AI-generated commercials may reach a level of quality indistinguishable from human-made content. At that point, Roku’s vision could prove prescient—unlocking a future where every business, no matter how small, can reach audiences through television.
Furthermore, AI could enable personalized advertising, tailoring messages not just to demographics but to individual viewers. Imagine an AI system generating slightly different versions of a commercial depending on who is watching. This could make ads more relevant and less repetitive, though it also raises privacy and ethical concerns.
Conclusion
Roku’s bet on AI advertising reflects a broader shift in the media industry: the democratization of content creation. While the potential upside for small businesses and Roku’s bottom line is significant, the risks to viewers—and to the quality of the television experience—are just as real.
For now, the future looks uncertain. If AI-generated ads remain awkward, viewers could rebel against the onslaught of digital clutter. But if the technology improves and Roku manages to balance quantity with quality, the company could usher in a new era of advertising that reshapes television for decades to come.
