Annual Comcast Advertising Report Highlights the State of AI in Advertising

Key Terms

programmatic technical

"Programmatic" describes the automated process of buying and selling financial assets or advertising space using computer systems and algorithms. It allows transactions to happen quickly and efficiently, often without human intervention, similar to how vending machines dispense snacks automatically. For investors, programmatic methods can lead to faster decision-making and more precise targeting of opportunities, potentially enhancing overall investment performance.

addressable technical

Addressable describes the portion of customers, clients, or units that a company can realistically reach or serve with its products, services, or communications. For investors it signals the size of the opportunity a business can pursue — like the houses on a street that are within delivery range — and helps set expectations for potential revenue, growth plans, and how resources are allocated.

attribution technical

Attribution is the breakdown of why an investment or portfolio produced a given return by assigning portions of the gain or loss to causes such as overall market moves, industry exposure, or specific stock choices. It matters to investors because it acts like a post-game analysis or recipe check—showing which decisions added value, which hurt performance, and whether results reflect manager skill, luck, or broader market trends, guiding future decisions and risk assessment.

In survey of brand and agency advertisers, 77% say AI is transforming the industry but majority say the most meaningful results are yet to come

Advertisers see measurement and attribution as the primary area for AI to impact in 2026

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Comcast Advertising released its annual Comcast Advertising Report including data, analysis and actionable insights on the trends impacting the viewers, buyers and sellers of TV advertising. The report also includes new research this year on the State of AI in Advertising based on input from senior advertisers at major agencies and brands.

“2025 was another transformational year for TV as brands navigate the complexity of reaching their audiences across screens and platforms,” said Travis Flood, Executive Director, Insights, Comcast Advertising. “This annual report, backed by data insights from across the Comcast Advertising portfolio, arms advertisers with actionable advice on the tools and technology – from AI to programmatic to addressable – that they can leverage to deliver meaningful results in the year ahead.”

AI is transforming advertising, but the full impact is not clear yet

• Nearly 8 in 10 advertisers (77%) believe AI is transforming how TV advertising is bought, making it more efficient (60%) and easier to buy (37%).
• However, hard proof of business value eludes many advertisers with more than 6 in 10 (61%) reporting they have not seen meaningful results from AI yet.

Audience analysis and data management are top uses already with measurement and attribution the goal for 2026

• In terms of how advertisers are using AI right now, more than 8 in 10 (82%) use the technology to identify or segment audiences as well as analyze audience behavior followed by automated data collection and integration (80%).
• For 2026, measurement and attribution is the top area (30%) that advertisers are hoping AI will positively impact and streamline.

AI gets creative for ad development

• When it comes to creative, advertisers report they are using AI primarily to generate initial creative ideas (41%) and produce multiple versions of a creative concept (35%).
• Only 1 in 5 (20%) advertisers report using AI for full ad production.

“From agentic buying to creative development and better measurement, AI has tremendous potential to help advertisers of all sizes deliver more impactful, outcome-focused campaigns,” added James Rooke, President, Comcast Advertising. “When done right, AI can support making TV advertising simpler, smarter, more efficient, and even more accessible. But less than a third of advertisers say they trust AI to do advertising-related tasks, and the reality is we’re still in the very early stages of realizing the benefits from this next technology wave. The challenge ahead is to translate AI’s potential into practical innovation that goes beyond just buzz to deliver real business value.”

The survey was conducted in November 2025 and received 216 responses from brand and agency personnel directly responsible for advertising. More than three quarters (75%) of the respondents were Director level or above at large brands or agencies with nearly half (47%) reporting company revenues of $100 million to $1 billion and a similar number (45%) reporting they manage advertising budgets ranging from $11 million to more than $50 million.

To view the full 2026 Comcast Advertising Report with the details of the State of AI in Advertising survey, visit here.

Note: The full list of sources can be found in the 2026 Comcast Advertising Report.

About Comcast Advertising

Comcast Advertising is the advertising division of Comcast. As a global leader in media, technology and advertising, the company fosters powerful connections between brands and their audiences as well as among publishers, distributors, MVPDs, agencies and other industry players. Comcast Advertising's Media Solutions team provides a streamlined way for advertisers to build brand relevancy and sustainable business outcomes through multiscreen TV advertising campaigns--powered by the media, data and technology assets of Comcast. FreeWheel, its media and technology arm, provides the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, data types and sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. And, Comcast Advertising’s Universal Ads enables brands of any size to seamlessly create, buy, and measure ads across premium video directly from top publishers with no fees. Comcast Advertising, along with NBCUniversal and Sky, is part of the Comcast Corporation.

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Media Contact:

Doug Broad

ComcastAdvertising@ThreeRingsInc.com

Source: Comcast Advertising