DirecTV will begin replacing your TV’s screensaver with AI-generated ads thanks to a new partnership. The entertainment brand is working with Glance, an AI company that received backing from Google and developed an on-device AI tool alongside the tech giant. The new AI-powered screensavers will begin rolling out to DirecTV Gemini devices early next year.
Glance press release about the deal presents the technology’s capabilities in lofty language: “Shop smarter by discovering and interacting with products and brands in a virtual, visually immersive AI-led shopping experience that looks native on TV.” In practice, however, it appears that a viewer can use the Glance mobile app to do things like insert themselves or other people into AI-generated videos appearing on their TV. They can then use the voice remote to change the person’s wardrobe and then purchase items similar to the AI-generated images from your phone.
“We’re making TV a simple experience rather than relaxing,” said Rajat Wanchoo, vice president of Glance’s business partnerships group. The edgewhich initially picked up the news of the partnership. “We want to give users the ability to use advances in generative AI to create a ChatGPT moment for themselves, but on TV.”
It’s unclear how many of DirecTV’s customers want to enjoy a ChatGPT moment for themselves, but questions about whether people want or need a feature haven’t stopped most AI companies from moving forward with their business plans. The press release does not specify whether viewers will be able to turn off this screensaver feature once live.
