DirecTV to Launch AI-Powered Screensaver Ads
▼ Summary
– DirecTV is partnering with AI company Glance to create custom TV screensavers featuring users, their families, or pets, which will launch on DirecTV Gemini devices next year.
– The AI-generated screensavers will include shoppable items, allowing users to purchase products similar to those appearing in their personalized AI environment.
– Users can insert themselves into the screensaver by scanning a QR code and uploading an image through the Glance mobile app, with options to customize their AI look or create a 30-second video.
– Glance uses reverse image search to match AI-generated content with products from its extensive catalog, and purchases must be completed on a mobile device, not the TV.
– This feature represents a broader trend of advertisers using AI creatively to drive sales, with plans to expand AI ads to other TV areas like the launcher in the future.
DirecTV is set to introduce a groundbreaking AI-driven screensaver feature that will transform idle television screens into personalized, interactive shopping environments. This new initiative, developed in collaboration with the artificial intelligence firm Glance, will debut on DirecTV Gemini devices in the coming year. Instead of conventional static backgrounds, viewers will encounter dynamic, AI-generated scenes where their own likeness, or that of family members or pets, can be digitally inserted.
Rajat Wanchoo, Glance’s group vice president of commercial partnerships, describes the project as an effort to shift television from a passive “lean back” medium to an engaging “lean in” experience. He emphasizes that the technology leverages recent generative AI breakthroughs to deliver what he calls a “ChatGPT moment” directly on the TV screen.
Glance, a subsidiary of InMobi, has a track record of integrating e-commerce features into mobile devices. The company previously added shopping-oriented bloatware to Motorola’s affordable phone lineup and recently introduced a Samsung Galaxy function that displays AI-generated images of users in various outfits on the lock screen, complete with purchasing options.
When a DirecTV-equipped television remains inactive for ten minutes, the standard Google wallpaper will be replaced by Glance’s AI-powered display. A rotating carousel of imaginative settings will appear, and viewers can place themselves into these scenes by scanning an on-screen QR code. This action directs users to download the Glance mobile app, where they upload a photo of themselves or another person. An additional “craft my moment” tool even enables insertion into a 30-second AI-generated video.
Further personalization is possible through voice commands via the remote control. For example, users can instruct the system to alter the color or style of clothing worn by their digital avatar. According to Wanchoo, Glance does not design screensavers around particular products. Instead, it uses reverse image search technology to identify real-world items that resemble those featured in the AI-generated imagery. He stresses that “no brand is pushing a product to you,” noting that the platform can match AI visuals against a catalog of one trillion SKUs. Any purchase would be finalized on a mobile device, not the TV.
This innovation represents the latest attempt by marketers to harness artificial intelligence for driving consumer purchases. Other companies are exploring similar territory: Amazon has introduced tools to populate its platform with AI-generated advertisements, while TikTok now permits brands to deploy virtual AI influencers in their promotional campaigns.
Looking ahead, Glance has ambitions to embed its AI advertising technology more deeply into the television interface. Mansi Jain, the company’s chief operating officer, confirms that while the initial rollout focuses on screensavers, future integration could extend to the TV’s launcher and other interface areas, expanding the reach of interactive, shoppable content.
(Source: The Verge)
