TL;DR
- DirecTV’s Gemini streaming devices will soon show you AI-generated ads featuring your face.
- It is partnering with Glance, which will use your face to create AI avatars featuring shoppable products, similar to Google’s try-on shopping feature.
- Glance also powers lockscreen ads on phones from major brands.
The best way for most TV manufacturers to extract value from consumers is to display ads. So why not take it up a notch with personalized targeting? Or take it a step further by showing your digital clones on-screen to sell suitable products? That’s exactly what the US-based streaming hardware and service provider DirecTV aims to do with its latest development.
The streaming giant says the features are coming to its Gemini (not to be confused with Google’s Gemini AI) range of devices in 2026. The so-called “AI-powered content and commerce screensavers” are powered by Glance, the same platform that powers lock screen ads on nearly every major Android phone brand, while labelling them as “wallpaper services.” Glance’s screensaver ads already exist on other Android-based streaming devices, including ones offered by Airtel in India, where it is already using AI to generate part of those screensaver ads.
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In DirecTV’s case, Glance will show you images of certain products, along with a QR code you can scan with your phone to upload them, The Verge reports. You will also have the option to insert multiple photos to create a 30-second AI-generated highlight video. However, unlike Google, which creates virtual avatars from actual products, Glance will only show AI-generated products that are similar. If you like a look, it will perform a reverse search to match actual products in its database, prompting you to complete the transaction on your phone.
In addition, Gemini streaming hardware will also display interactive ads from different categories, including auto, local events and trends, health, lifestyle, and travel, based on your interests — presumably using your watch history.
The DirecTV interface for big screens is not the only platform to feature personalized AI-generated ads. Earlier this year, Glance partnered with Samsung to display AI-generated versions of you dressed up in different outfits on your phone’s lock screen. Fortunately, at least in Samsung’s case, these are available only on an opt-in (not opt-out) basis.
It’s unclear where it stands with DirecTV, but Glance has already hinted at its plans to extend it to other surfaces, including the launcher.
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