The Super Bowl has long been a proving ground for new technologies seeking mass legitimacy. This year, generative AI took the field in force. But despite years of hype, ballooning valuations and rapidly growing usage, many of the ads leaned on familiar promises and vague positioning. Four years into the AI hypecycle and it’s never been more clear that AI is in a messaging crisis.
According to iSpot, 23% of Super Bowl commercials—15 out of the 66 ads—featured AI. This includes giants like OpenAI and Anthropic—selling AI directly to consumers—while consumer brands, including vodka maker Svedka, leaned on the technology to make its ad. Taken together, the ads reflected a broader AI arms race this football season, with brands across product categories framing the technology as inevitable, while promising smarter tools, more human interactions, and the seamless integration of AI into everyday life.
Yet much of these advertisements struggled to clearly articulate what sets one offering apart from another, even as AI becomes mainstream.
“The commercials are similar to how AI was portrayed last year–practical use cases for AI or humanizing AI in people’s daily lives,” said Debra Aho Williamson, founder and chief analyst, Sonata Insights.
In 2026, nearly 30% of internet users will use ChatGPT, according to an Emarketer survey, a figure expected to rise to 35% by 2029. That growth, while significant, also underscores the limits of how quickly AI platforms can expand their user base, even as investor expectations continue to climb. OpenAI, for instance, is reportedly eyeing a valuation north of $800 billion as it pursues another round of cash.
“AI players are trying to get better awareness for their offerings,” said Jeremy Goldman, senior director of content, Emarketer. According to Goldman, there’s a natural ceiling to how quickly this technology can actually advance, and companies are under pressure to accelerate it because they’ve promised investors returns that depend on exponential growth.
That pressure helps explain why AI companies are spending millions on Super Bowl airtime to establish themselves as foundational brands. “Their only chance is brand differentiation,” Goldman said.
