DirecTV screensavers will show AI-generated ads with your face in 2026

As if DirecTV doesn’t have enough trouble keeping customers, the satellite TV provider’s streaming devices will show AI-generated screensaver ads next year, according to an announcement today from partnering ads company Glance.

People who use either of DirecTV’s two Gemini streaming devices will start seeing the ads “in early 2026,” per the announcement. DirecTV’s Gemini Air is an Android TV-powered USB device that people can plug into a TV for access to live TV channels, as well as streaming apps. Gemini Air doesn’t require a DirecTV satellite connection, and DirecTV gives all of its Internet customers the device. DirecTV first started selling Gemini devices in 2023, when it launched a separate Gemini set-top box that connects through DirecTV satellite setups.

DirecTV made an agreement with Glance to show AI-generated content and ads on Gemini devices’ screensavers. Currently, Gemini devices show Google wallpapers as screensavers, which are on by default. When the new screensavers launch, Glance’s AI content will show if the TV is idle for 10 minutes, The Verge reported.

For the unfamiliar, Glance is the same company that brought AI-generated lock screen ads with users’ faces to Samsung Galaxy phones in June. The Indian company recently started pushing its ad platform to smart TV operating systems, as well. Before generative AI took off, Glance shoved ads and tracking into phones through “lock screen experiences” that could also show desirable content, like news alerts. Glance is owned by InMobi, a mobile ads company with a history of tracking unsuspecting users.

DirecTV’s screensavers will let a user create an AI avatar of themself by scanning a QR code on the screensaver. Afterward, they can use the avatar to browse through different AI content. Users will also reportedly be able to dress up their AI avatars, allowing Glance’s screensaver to recommend real-life products to purchase by performing a reverse-image search.

Rajat Wanchoo, Glance’s group VP of commercial partnerships, told The Verge that Glance has a trillion SKUs that it can match to AI-generated images. Final purchases will occur via a phone or other device separate from the Gemini hardware.