We’ve all seen low-effort ads online, but lately it feels like we’re entering the AI spam era of advertising.
And it's not just smaller companies trying to cut costs, but major brands too. I recently came across news about Samsung incorporating AI into a number of their newer ads, and it made me realize how common this is becoming across the board.
www.androidheadlines.com
Once you start looking for it, you begin to see it everywhere.
Even when an ad isn’t fully AI-generated, a lot of them are clearly using AI retouching tools. There’s that slightly “off” look: lighting that feels artificial, textures that are too smooth, tiny visual glitches that don’t quite make sense. Sometimes it’s subtle. Other times it’s painfully obvious.
It's not like I mindlessly hate AI. I know some people have a moral objection to using it for promotion, but advertising has always been about polishing reality. CGI, heavy Photoshop, staged environments... none of that is new. In that sense, AI is just the next tool in the box.
What bothers me is something else.
If a company is willing to rely heavily on AI because it’s faster and cheaper, does that say anything about how much effort they’re putting into the product itself? Maybe that’s unfair. Maybe production efficiency has nothing to do with product quality. But when an ad feels rushed or synthetic, it makes the whole brand feel slightly lower effort to me.
At the same time, I can’t ignore the efficiency side. From a business perspective, AI lowers production costs, speeds up iteration, and makes scaling creative easier. That’s hard to argue against.
So I’m torn.
Is anyone else noticing this increase in AI ads?
Does the use of AI in advertising change how you feel about a brand?
Do you see it as smart cost-cutting, or as a shortcut that cheapens things?
And if you’re in marketing yourself, are you already using AI in your ad creative?
It feels like we’re heading toward a point where AI-generated ads will be the default rather than the exception. I’m not sure whether that’s neutral, positive, or the start of a long-term drop in creative standards. Personally, I lean toward the latter, but maybe I’m just being cynical.
Are we heading into a future where 90% of ads are AI-generated and nobody cares?
And it's not just smaller companies trying to cut costs, but major brands too. I recently came across news about Samsung incorporating AI into a number of their newer ads, and it made me realize how common this is becoming across the board.
Samsung’s New Galaxy S26 Ads Are More AI Than Real Video
Samsung is teasing the Galaxy S26 with stunning night shots, but there's a catch: the social media video ads are AI-generated.
www.androidheadlines.com
Once you start looking for it, you begin to see it everywhere.
Even when an ad isn’t fully AI-generated, a lot of them are clearly using AI retouching tools. There’s that slightly “off” look: lighting that feels artificial, textures that are too smooth, tiny visual glitches that don’t quite make sense. Sometimes it’s subtle. Other times it’s painfully obvious.
It's not like I mindlessly hate AI. I know some people have a moral objection to using it for promotion, but advertising has always been about polishing reality. CGI, heavy Photoshop, staged environments... none of that is new. In that sense, AI is just the next tool in the box.
What bothers me is something else.
If a company is willing to rely heavily on AI because it’s faster and cheaper, does that say anything about how much effort they’re putting into the product itself? Maybe that’s unfair. Maybe production efficiency has nothing to do with product quality. But when an ad feels rushed or synthetic, it makes the whole brand feel slightly lower effort to me.
At the same time, I can’t ignore the efficiency side. From a business perspective, AI lowers production costs, speeds up iteration, and makes scaling creative easier. That’s hard to argue against.
So I’m torn.
Is anyone else noticing this increase in AI ads?
Does the use of AI in advertising change how you feel about a brand?
Do you see it as smart cost-cutting, or as a shortcut that cheapens things?
And if you’re in marketing yourself, are you already using AI in your ad creative?
It feels like we’re heading toward a point where AI-generated ads will be the default rather than the exception. I’m not sure whether that’s neutral, positive, or the start of a long-term drop in creative standards. Personally, I lean toward the latter, but maybe I’m just being cynical.
Are we heading into a future where 90% of ads are AI-generated and nobody cares?
