Generative AI can now crank out video ad creatives at unprecedented speed and scale – especially in Connected TV (CTV) advertising – but there’s a catch. As AI streamlines ad creation, authenticity and brand perception can suffer if the content feels mechanized or inauthentic. Recent research shows that consumers often react negatively to ads they perceive as AI-made, calling them “annoying,” “boring,” or “confusing,” and these ads produce weaker memory recall. In other words, when viewers sense an ad is artificially generated, it not only irritates them but also fails to stick in their minds. The takeaway: even as we embrace AI for efficiency, maintaining a human touch in storytelling is critical to keep audiences engaged and ensure the brand message truly resonates.
Consumers Will Watch AI, But Do They Like It?
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Consumer Reactions to AI Ads: Consumers’ subconscious minds aren’t connecting AI ads with existing memories as effectively, which could impede motivation to act on the ad Moreover, if an AI ad’s visuals are anything less than polished, it becomes cognitively taxing – low-quality AI visuals actually force viewers to expend more mental effort to process the ad, distracting from the message. In short, visual quality must be impeccable for AI-driven creative; otherwise, the lack of authenticity and clarity can backfire.
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GenAI Adoption in Advertising: Despite such challenges, the industry is charging ahead with generative AI for video ads – CTV included. Nearly 90% of digital video advertisers have adopted or plan to adopt generative AI in their creative process. In fact, about 30% of video ads today are already built or enhanced using GenAI, a share expected to rise to roughly 40% of all video ads by 2026. This rapid uptake is especially pronounced among small and mid-sized brands, who see AI as an equalizer that lets them produce quality CTV creatives without massive production budgets. Top use cases for GenAI in ad creative include tailoring ads to different audience segments (42% of advertisers cite this), altering visual styles (38%), and improving contextual relevance (36%). Notably, buyers are not going it completely alone – almost half (46%) of video advertisers want support from their partners (agencies, platforms, etc.) to test and refine AI-generated creatives. This reinforces that human oversight and strategic guidance remain essential even as AI takes on more of the heavy lifting in production.
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CTV’s Programmatic Surge & Header Bidding: The CTV advertising landscape is rapidly shifting toward programmatic, data-driven buying – blurring the lines between “TV” and digital. Nearly half (47%) of CTV ad inventory is now expected to be biddable programmatic inventory this year, up sharply from just 34% a year prior. In practice, CTV is becoming more like the open web ad market: 85% of CTV ad buys are executed programmatically today, up from 75% last year, as advertisers demand the efficiency and targeting of real-time bidding even on the big screen. This surge in biddable CTV inventory has publishers adopting advanced auction tactics to maximize performance and revenue. Hybrid header bidding combines client-side and server-side bidding, and by allowing both methods to run in parallel, hybrid header bidding increases competition for each CTV impression – and has been shown to lift publisher ad revenue by around 18% on averageadnimation.com. The programmatic transformation of CTV means performance metrics are king, but it also means CTV campaigns require the right tech stack. Advertisers and publishers must ensure their systems (DSPs, SSPs, ad servers) can handle these auctions efficiently – and that human experts are in the loop to manage deals and troubleshoot, since 83% of CTV buyers still say they need hands-on help from sell-side partners to get the most out of programmatic CTV.
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AI-Creative Performance Gains: When executed thoughtfully, AI-augmented creatives can deliver impressive performance lifts in CTV campaigns. A recent study found that AI-optimized CTV video ads achieved a 94.5% completion rate, compared to about 70% for standard video ads In other words, nearly all viewers watched the AI-tailored ads to completion – a huge boost in an era when skipping or tune-out is always a concern. The likely reason? AI optimization can fine-tune countless elements (scene pacing, on-screen text, colors, etc.) based on data, creating a version of the ad more likely to hold attention. Higher completion rates mean more of your message gets through to viewers. Even more importantly, AI-driven targeting and creative tweaks can translate into hard business outcomes. CTV ads already benefit from a lean-back viewing environment, but with AI optimization the channel can drive actions: one analysis showed 23% of CTV viewers made a purchase after seeing an ad, nearly double the conversion rate of traditional linear TV advertising. CTV is closing the gap with digital platforms as a performance channel – in fact, in industry surveys, store visits and sales outcomes are now top-priority KPIs for video ad buyers, reflecting a shift away from soft metrics. Advertisers report that if a streaming ad campaign doesn’t deliver on business outcomes, they won’t hesitate to cut spending. This focus on tangible results has pushed CTV creative strategy to evolve: it’s not just about grabbing eyeballs with one big-budget spot, but optimizing multiple variants to drive higher ROI. (Tellingly, 41% of programmatic CTV buyers now say improved ROI/ROAS is their number-one goal.) Bottom line: AI can boost certain performance metrics significantly, but to truly capitalize on those gains, brands must marry the data-driven approach with human creativity – ensuring the ad is memorable and emotionally resonant, not just technically “optimized.”
So, How Do You Do It?
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Blend Human + AI: Don’t think of it as humans versus AI – the best results come from combining strengths. Use AI tools for what they excel at: rapid iteration of creative variants (different voiceovers, 15s cutdowns vs. 30s, swapping backgrounds or layouts), generating quick storyboard ideas, or resizing and reformatting assets for all your CTV platform placements. But keep humans in charge of the narrative and emotional elements. A human creative touch is vital for story cohesion, humor, cultural nuances, and brand authenticity – areas where AI can stumble. In practice, this might mean an AI suggests 10 versions of a scene, and your creative team picks or refines the one that best aligns with the brand’s voice. By layering human insight on top of AI-generated options, you ensure the final ad feels authentic and on-brand while still benefiting from AI’s speed and diversity of ideas.
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Test With Eye (Analytics): Treat AI-generated vs. human-crafted creatives as hypotheses to be tested, not assumptions to bank on. Leverage CTV’s digital feedback loop to analyze performance by segment. For instance, you can run A/B tests or multivariate experiments: an AI-only version of an ad versus a human-edited version, and compare engagement and conversion metrics. Many CTV ad platforms and third-party analytics tools will show performance breakouts by audience cohort, streaming app, or even creative variant. Watch these metrics closely – which version drives higher completion rates for Gen Z vs. Gen X? Does the AI-heavy creative maintain attention through the last few seconds, or do viewers drop off? By rigorously comparing AI-only vs. human-tuned creatives, you’ll get data on what actually works for your brand. Double down on the approaches that win. This evidence-based creative optimization ensures you’re not just assuming the AI output is fine – you’re validating it with real audience eyes and iterating quickly. In essence, always “test with an eye” on the data: it will guide you on the right mix of AI and human input for future CTV campaigns.
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Transparent Creative: If you do use AI for significant portions of a creative, consider being subtly transparent about it – or at least make sure the ad doesn’t feel soulless. In categories where emotional connection is paramount (like charities, healthcare, or luxury goods), you might even hint at the human touch in the creative. This could mean using real employee voices or customer testimonials overlayed on AI-generated visuals, or adding a brief behind-the-scenes snippet in a longer ad that shows people (copywriters, actors, etc.) involved in the process. Another approach is incorporating brand cues or familiar mascots so the ad immediately feels recognizable and humanized. The goal is not to wave a flag saying “This ad was made by AI,” but rather to prevent the ad from feeling sterile. Viewers have become adept at sensing formulaic, machine-made content, so if you can’t avoid using AI for scale, balance it out with humanizing elements. Even a small dose of humor, imperfection, or personal storytelling can reassure viewers that there are real people and genuine creativity behind the brand – which in turn builds trust and keeps the audience emotionally invested.
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Track Metrics Beyond Views: In a world where impressions and views are cheap, especially via programmatic, success for CTV ads must be defined by deeper engagement and outcome metrics. Don’t just report the number of times your ad was served – look at how people actually interacted. Key metrics to monitor include video completion rate (did viewers watch your 30-second ad till the end?), average watch time (if it’s a longer ad or interactive experience, how long did they stay with it?), and brand recall or lift (are audiences remembering your message an hour or a day later?). If you have the tools, track offline outcomes too: did exposure to the CTV ad drive an increase in store visits, website conversions, or product sales in the weeks after? These are the metrics that really matter to your bottom line. AI can optimize elements like color, music, or on-screen text to eke out incremental gains in attention, but human insight is needed to ensure those optimizations translate to memorability and persuasion. For example, an AI might find that a certain product shot keeps eyes on screen longer, but a human strategist will tie that to a compelling call-to-action that the viewer recalls later when shopping. So set your campaign KPIs around meaningful outcomes (completion, lift, conversions) and continuously measure them. This will not only tell you if your AI-assisted creative is effective, but also provide learnings to refine future storytelling. After all, an ad that doesn’t drive recall or action – no matter how many views it racks up – isn’t a winning ad. Focus on the metrics that demonstrate genuine impact, and let those guide your creative decisions.
Partnering for Performance
While the balance of human storytelling and AI-driven optimization is key, publishers and advertisers don’t have to manage it alone. Specialized monetization partners like Adnimation help bridge the gap between cutting-edge tech and real human strategy. Our teams combine advanced tools with hands-on expertise to ensure CTV campaigns deliver not just views, but measurable revenue and brand lift.
For digital publishers, that means every campaign runs in the most efficient, competitive environment possible. For publishers, it means higher revenue per stream and a monetization partner focused on long-term growth, not just short-term gains.
As AI reshapes creative workflows, monetization strategy becomes the multiplier. Pairing human creativity with trusted partners and proprietary tech ensures CTV advertising reaches its full potential, delivering authenticity, performance, and profitability all at once.
