As television advertising continues its rapid transformation across streaming, linear, and digital platforms, new research from Comcast Advertising highlights how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape buying, planning, and creative workflows, even as many advertisers are still searching for clear proof of business impact. The company has released its annual Comcast Advertising Report, offering data-driven insight into the forces influencing viewers, buyers, and sellers of TV advertising, alongside new research on the state of AI in advertising.
The report positions 2025 as another pivotal year for television, marked by growing complexity in reaching audiences across screens and platforms. According to Travis Flood, Executive Director of Insights at Comcast Advertising, advertisers are navigating a fragmented environment where technology plays a central role in simplifying execution and improving outcomes. He said the report draws on insights from across the Comcast Advertising portfolio to provide practical guidance on tools such as AI, programmatic, and addressable advertising that brands can use to drive performance in the year ahead.
AI already appears to be influencing how TV advertising is bought. Nearly eight in ten advertisers surveyed said AI is transforming the buying process, with 60% citing improved efficiency and 37% saying it makes advertising easier to purchase. Despite this optimism, confidence in results remains mixed. More than six in ten advertisers reported they have not yet seen meaningful business outcomes from AI, underscoring a gap between perceived potential and realized value.
Today, AI adoption is most advanced in audience-focused applications. More than 80% of respondents said they already use AI to identify or segment audiences and analyze audience behavior, while 80% also rely on it for automated data collection and integration. These use cases reflect advertisers’ immediate need to manage data complexity and better understand fragmented viewing behavior. Looking ahead to 2026, advertisers identified measurement and attribution as the area where they most hope AI will deliver impact, with 30% saying they expect AI to streamline and improve how results are quantified.
Creative development is another area where AI is gaining traction, though in a more limited role. Advertisers reported using AI primarily for early-stage ideation, with 41% leveraging it to generate initial creative ideas and 35% using it to produce multiple versions of a creative concept. Only 20% said they rely on AI for full ad production, suggesting that human oversight and creative judgment remain central to TV advertising.
James Rooke, President of Comcast Advertising, said AI holds significant promise across the advertising lifecycle, from agentic buying and creative development to improved measurement. However, he cautioned that trust remains a barrier, noting that fewer than one-third of advertisers say they trust AI to perform advertising-related tasks. According to Rooke, the industry is still in the early stages of translating AI’s potential into practical innovation that delivers measurable business value.
The findings are based on a survey conducted in November 2025, with 216 responses from brand and agency professionals directly responsible for advertising. More than three-quarters of respondents were director level or above, representing large brands and agencies with substantial advertising budgets.
Taken together, the annual Comcast Advertising Report suggests that while AI is clearly reshaping TV advertising workflows, its full impact has yet to be realized. For advertisers, the challenge moving forward will be turning efficiency gains and experimentation into trusted, outcome-driven results that justify deeper investment in AI-powered advertising strategies.
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