How CBS and Local TV Stations Are Scaling AI Video Ad Generation in 2026

CBS and local television stations are scaling AI video ad generation by combining generative artificial intelligence, automated commercial production, local business information, and broadcast advertising sales systems. The approach allows television stations to create professional video commercials for small and medium-sized businesses without requiring a traditional production team for every advertisement. AI-powered systems automate script development, visual selection, voiceovers, music, and video assembly, while human teams review creative accuracy and prepare commercials for broadcast and streaming TV. For broadcasters, advertisers, agencies, and local businesses, this model reduces production barriers, supports faster campaign launches, and creates new opportunities for local advertising revenue.

The development represents a significant change in how television advertising is produced and sold.

Traditional local television advertising depended on production budgets, creative teams, editing facilities, and scheduling processes. AI-assisted production gives local sales representatives a way to demonstrate a customized commercial during the sales process and refine it after receiving advertiser feedback.

The commercial remains connected to a broader advertising operation that includes audience selection, media planning, scheduling, distribution, compliance, and performance measurement.

The important change is not simply faster video production. Local broadcasters are integrating AI-generated creative into a repeatable commercial sales process that can support more advertisers across multiple markets.

CBS Expanded AI Video Advertising Across Its Owned Television Stations

CBS expanded AI video advertising across its owned television stations after earlier testing in selected markets. The expansion gave local advertising sales teams access to automated commercial creation technology.

Major-market stations included:

• WCBS-TV in New York
• KCBS-TV in Los Angeles
• WBBM-TV in Chicago

The expansion moved AI-assisted advertising from selected-market experimentation toward a station-group-wide commercial offering.

The technology combines business information, existing marketing materials, AI-written advertising copy, voiceovers, and edited video assets.

CBS positioned AI commercial creation as an additional advertising service for local small and medium-sized businesses.

The approach has several practical implications.

First, local sales representatives can show advertisers an example of their television commercial before the business completes a traditional production process.

Second, television stations can serve businesses that previously viewed professional commercial production as too expensive or complicated.

Third, centralized production technology can reduce the need for individual stations to build separate creative workflows.

AI-generated commercial production also connects local television advertising with broader developments in streaming TV advertising, where businesses can access creative production and television inventory through simplified advertising systems.

How AI Video Ad Generation Developed in Local Television

AI video commercial generation expanded through several stages before becoming part of larger station-group advertising operations. Early deployments concentrated on rapid commercial creation. Later systems connected creative production with advertiser acquisition, streaming inventory, audience information, and centralized advertising operations.

The development can be understood through several stages.

Early automated commercial production

AI systems began demonstrating that television commercials could be assembled from existing business information, stock or approved imagery, automated narration, music, and generated advertising copy.

Production that traditionally required several creative steps could be compressed into a largely software-driven workflow.

Station-group deployment

Broadcasters began making automated commercial production available across larger groups of local stations.

Centralized technology allowed multiple markets to access the same production infrastructure rather than maintaining separate workflows for every location.

Expansion into self-service streaming advertising

Automated commercial creation became increasingly connected with simplified streaming television purchasing.

Small businesses could move from having no television creative assets to preparing a commercial and exploring available streaming inventory through a more accessible process.

Expansion across large television networks

Larger broadcasting operations expanded access to AI commercial production across their owned stations.

AI creative therefore moved beyond individual demonstrations and became part of formal local advertising operations.

Integration with local advertising technology

AI video production increasingly became connected with advertising sales systems, audience information, campaign distribution, and measurement.

By 2026, the direction was increasingly toward integrated advertising workflows rather than independent AI video generation tools.

Why Local Television Stations Are Automating Commercial Production

Local television stations are automating commercial production because traditional video advertising requires production resources that many small businesses cannot easily access. AI reduces the effort needed to prepare an initial advertisement and gives broadcasters additional ways to recruit local advertisers.

A conventional commercial often involves concept development, scriptwriting, scheduling, recording, visual production, editing, sound mixing, revisions, and final delivery.

Even a relatively simple local advertisement can require coordination between the advertiser, sales representative, producer, editor, and broadcast operations team.

AI systems combine several of those tasks into a single software workflow.

The production advantage becomes particularly relevant for advertisers with limited marketing resources.

A local restaurant may already have photographs, menus, customer information, and social media content but lack an edited television commercial.

A healthcare practice may have approved service descriptions and professional photographs but no dedicated video production team.

A furniture retailer may regularly update promotions without having the budget to produce entirely new videos for every campaign.

Automated creative tools can use existing materials as the starting point for television advertising.

The economic opportunity extends beyond production cost reduction.

Local television stations depend on advertising revenue, and advertising revenue depends partly on the number of businesses able and willing to purchase campaigns.

Reducing the cost and complexity of commercial creation can make television advertising accessible to a wider group of potential advertisers.

For broadcasters, the opportunity is expanding the advertiser base without requiring a proportional increase in production personnel.

For advertisers, the advantage is gaining access to professionally formatted video advertising through a simpler production process.

The financial benefit still depends on media costs, advertiser retention, campaign outcomes, and the amount of human editing required.

Inside the AI Commercial Production Workflow Used by Local Broadcasters

AI video ad generation uses a structured production process that converts business information and approved marketing assets into an edited commercial. The workflow combines content extraction, language generation, visual selection, voice synthesis, timeline assembly, and human approval.

A typical workflow includes:

• Business information and approved assets
• Website content, images, logos, offers, locations, and contact information
• AI-assisted script generation
• Storyboard and scene planning
• Visual selection
• Voiceover generation
• Music and audio placement
• Caption and text overlay creation
• Automated editing
• Human review
• Broadcast preparation
• Campaign distribution
• Performance measurement

Business data collection and asset identification

The workflow begins with information about the advertiser.

Possible inputs include the company website, business description, physical location, logo, product photography, service information, and promotional offers.

Some commercial creation systems can retrieve publicly available business information.

Advertisers still need to review extracted details because websites and online business information can become outdated.

Approved advertiser-provided assets provide greater control over the finished commercial.

AI-assisted script creation

A language model processes business information and develops advertising copy.

The script typically identifies the advertised product or service, communicates the main benefit, and includes a call to action.

Script generation also needs to account for commercial duration.

A script created for a 15-second advertisement requires a different amount of information than a 30-second or 60-second commercial.

Human reviewers should confirm that promotional statements, prices, availability, and business descriptions are accurate.

Visual selection and scene assembly

The system selects relevant photographs, video clips, backgrounds, text overlays, and other approved assets.

A commercial for a restaurant might use food photography, location imagery, menu information, and contact details.

A commercial for a local home improvement business might use project photographs, service descriptions, and a customer contact message.

Automated editing arranges these elements into a sequence matching the advertisement's message and duration.

Voiceover and audio generation

Text-to-speech technology converts an approved advertising script into spoken narration.

Automated systems can also add background music, adjust timing, and coordinate narration with visual transitions.

Voice quality, pronunciation, pacing, and audio levels require review before broadcast.

Local names, regional pronunciations, and specialized terminology need particular attention.

Final review and commercial delivery

The completed video needs to satisfy creative, legal, and technical requirements.

Reviewers check content accuracy, advertiser approval, music rights, narration, visual quality, timing, and technical specifications.

The station can then prepare the commercial for the relevant television advertising system.

Generating an initial commercial in minutes does not mean every advertisement can move directly into broadcast distribution without review.

How Local TV Sales Teams Use AI Video Ads to Acquire New Advertisers

Local television sales teams can use AI-generated commercials as sales demonstrations that help businesses understand what their advertising could look like before purchasing television inventory.

The process is especially useful when approaching businesses that have never advertised on television.

Traditionally, a sales representative might begin with a presentation about audience reach, programming, market coverage, and commercial pricing.

An AI-assisted sales workflow can begin with a proposed advertisement created from the prospect's approved business information.

The advertiser sees a concrete example of the message, visuals, narration, and branding that could appear on television.

These demonstration advertisements are commonly called speculative advertisements or spec ads.

AI-assisted speculative advertising can support several sales activities:

• Prospect demonstrations: Show businesses how their products or services could appear in a television commercial.
• Campaign proposals: Connect proposed creative with available broadcast or streaming inventory.
• Creative revisions: Modify messaging after receiving advertiser feedback.
• Seasonal promotions: Prepare alternative messages for holidays, sales events, or local campaigns.
• Renewal discussions: Develop new creative concepts for advertisers considering another campaign.

The sales benefit depends on how effectively the commercial supports the overall advertising proposal.

A fast video demonstration cannot independently establish whether a campaign will reach the correct audience or generate additional customers.

Sales teams still need to explain advertising investment, geographic coverage, campaign scheduling, expected exposure, and available measurement methods.

AI Video Generation Is Connecting Broadcast TV and Streaming Advertising

AI-generated television commercials can support both traditional broadcast advertising and connected television campaigns when creative assets meet the requirements of each distribution environment.

This makes automated production more useful than a system designed for a single destination.

Linear television advertising places commercials within scheduled television programming.

Advertising inventory is commonly purchased through station sales teams, agencies, or approved advertising systems.

Connected TV advertising, commonly called CTV advertising, reaches viewers through internet-connected televisions, streaming devices, and compatible applications.

Over-the-top advertising, commonly called OTT advertising, refers to advertising delivered through internet-based video services without requiring a conventional cable or satellite television subscription.

CTV describes the device environment.

OTT describes the delivery method.

The two concepts overlap but are not identical.

A local advertiser can use a common creative concept across several television distribution channels.

A regional furniture retailer, for example, could prepare a 30-second commercial for local broadcast television and create a related version for compatible streaming inventory.

The streaming version could contain a different promotional offer or landing page reference.

Businesses operating across several cities can also create localized versions of the same advertising concept.

Centralized creative management can maintain consistent branding while allowing approved changes to addresses, contact information, promotions, narration, or local imagery.

Distribution across broadcast television and streaming services is not automatic.

Different advertising systems can require separate booking arrangements, creative approval, trafficking instructions, measurement systems, and billing processes.

AI simplifies commercial production but does not remove operational differences between television distribution channels.

Local Audience Data Determines How Useful AI-Generated Commercials Become

Local audience data helps broadcasters and advertisers decide where, when, and to whom television advertisements should be delivered. AI-generated creative becomes more commercially useful when production decisions connect with reliable audience information and campaign objectives.

An advertising system can create many commercial variations, but variation alone does not establish relevance.

Effective local advertising requires an understanding of geographic coverage, viewer characteristics, consumer needs, and the relationship between advertising exposure and business outcomes.

Several forms of information can contribute to campaign planning.

Geographic information

Geographic information identifies cities, designated market areas, regions, or service territories where an advertiser wants to reach customers.

Program and content information

Program information describes the television programming or streaming environments in which advertisements can appear.

First-party advertiser data

First-party data can include information that a business collects directly from customers through permitted interactions.

Audience measurement data

Audience measurement data provides estimates or records of television exposure depending on the distribution environment and measurement method.

Contextual information

Contextual information describes content categories, viewing environments, time periods, or circumstances associated with an advertising opportunity.

Creative generation and audience targeting remain different functions.

An AI video generator develops advertising content.

An advertising delivery system determines where that content can appear according to campaign settings and available inventory.

A demand-side platform can support automated purchasing of eligible digital video inventory.

A broadcaster's internal commercial production system does not automatically provide media-buying functionality.

Audience data quality also matters.

Connected television often operates at the household or device level.

A recorded advertising impression does not necessarily identify which individual member of a household watched the commercial.

Authenticated viewing information, contextual signals, and statistical modeling can improve audience analysis, but no single data source eliminates every measurement limitation.

Privacy requirements also affect which data can be collected, combined, and used for advertising.

Responsible local television advertising therefore depends on permitted data sources, accurate interpretation of audience identity, and clear separation between estimated exposure and verified customer activity.

How AI Helps Create Localized TV Commercials at Scale

AI-assisted localization allows television advertisers to reuse an approved creative structure while adjusting selected information for different cities, service areas, languages, and campaign offers.

Localization is particularly useful for station groups operating across multiple geographic markets.

A national advertiser may need consistent branding while using different addresses, promotional terms, or service availability in each location.

A regional advertiser may operate multiple stores with different opening hours or promotional campaigns.

Automated creative production reduces repetitive editing when preparing these variations.

A typical localization workflow begins with an approved master advertisement.

The production team determines which creative elements must remain fixed and which can change.

Fixed elements can include:

• Brand identity
• Approved product descriptions
• Music rights
• Legal language
• Design standards

Variable elements can include:

• Location names
• Contact information
• Local offers
• Narration
• Selected visuals
• Store information
• Regional calls to action

The system generates variations using approved inputs.

Human reviewers then verify that each version contains accurate local information before distribution.

Language adaptation introduces additional considerations.

AI voice synthesis can generate narration in different languages, but pronunciation and natural phrasing should still receive human review.

Regional language variations can also affect how a commercial communicates a promotion or service.

Localization should preserve the intended meaning of approved advertising statements.

Businesses should not assume that an automatically translated statement remains legally or commercially accurate in every location.

Measuring AI Video Ad Production and Local TV Advertising Performance

AI video advertising performance should be measured at two levels, production efficiency and advertising effectiveness.

Production metrics show whether automation reduces creative workload.

Advertising metrics show whether the finished commercial contributes to campaign objectives.

Useful measurements include:

• Creative turnaround time: Measures the time from an approved brief to a usable commercial.
• Cost per approved commercial: Measures production expense relative to completed advertising assets.
• Approval rate: Measures the percentage of generated commercials approved for use.
• Revision frequency: Measures the number of changes required before approval.
• Advertiser conversion rate: Measures how many prospects become paying advertisers.
• Campaign reach: Estimates the number of people or households exposed.
• Frequency: Measures average advertising exposures among the reached audience.
• Cost per thousand impressions: Measures media cost for every 1,000 delivered impressions.
• Attributed conversions: Measures qualifying actions associated with advertising under a defined attribution method.
• Advertiser renewal rate: Measures how many advertisers purchase additional campaigns.

These metrics should be interpreted together.

A station could reduce the time required to create a commercial while increasing the number of revisions requested by advertisers.

The faster initial production would represent an efficiency improvement, but additional revisions could reduce the overall operational benefit.

An advertiser can also receive substantial television exposure without generating measurable customer activity.

Campaign planning should therefore define the intended business outcome before choosing a measurement method.

For restaurants, useful business indicators can include reservations, orders, or visits.

For home services businesses, relevant indicators can include qualified inquiries and booked appointments.

For retailers, relevant indicators can include store visits, online orders, and sales activity.

Attribution methods can include:

• Dedicated telephone numbers
• Website analytics
• Campaign-specific landing pages
• Promotional codes
• Customer-response tracking
• Carefully designed measurement studies

Each method has limitations.

A customer can see a television advertisement and complete a purchase later through another channel.

A household impression can represent an opportunity to view the advertisement without confirming individual attention.

Useful reporting should separate directly observed activity, modeled estimates, and actual business outcomes.

Quality Control, Copyright, Advertising Accuracy, and AI Disclosure

AI-generated television advertising requires human oversight because automated systems can create incorrect business information, misleading visuals, unauthorized creative elements, or statements that do not meet advertising requirements.

Commercial production speed does not remove the responsibilities of advertisers, broadcasters, or agencies.

A professional review process should examine several areas.

Advertising accuracy

Business descriptions, prices, discounts, product availability, service areas, and promotional deadlines need to be verified before broadcast.

Advertising statements should be truthful, accurate, and supportable.

Copyright and media permissions

Production teams should confirm that photographs, video footage, music, logos, and other creative assets are authorized for commercial use.

An asset being publicly accessible online does not automatically establish permission for commercial advertising.

Voice and likeness permissions

AI-generated narration should not imitate an identifiable individual without appropriate authorization.

Synthetic voices resembling real people can introduce consent, publicity, and deception concerns.

Advertising disclosures

Disclosure requirements depend on the type of advertisement, jurisdiction, advertising category, and applicable rules.

Political advertising, endorsements, regulated products, and other specialized advertising categories can require additional review.

Broadcast technical quality

Completed commercials need to satisfy the technical requirements of the broadcaster or advertising distributor.

Technical requirements can include:

• File format
• Aspect ratio
• Audio levels
• Video resolution
• Duration
• Encoding requirements
• Delivery specifications

Editorial and commercial separation

AI use in commercial production should remain distinct from AI use in television journalism.

Newsroom systems require different editorial approval processes because journalism depends on verification, sourcing, accuracy, and public trust.

Newsroom AI adoption should therefore not be treated as a measurement of AI advertising adoption.

The Business Model Behind AI-Powered Local Television Advertising

AI-assisted commercial generation can change broadcaster economics by reducing creative production barriers and connecting commercial production more closely with advertising sales.

The broadcaster's commercial value comes from selling advertising opportunities, not simply generating video files.

Traditional local advertising packages can include production assistance, scheduled commercial placement, account management, and reporting.

AI-based advertising offerings can support similar packages through a more automated creative process.

Several commercial models are possible.

A station can provide basic AI-assisted commercial production as part of an advertising purchase.

Another operation can charge separately for advanced editing, additional commercial variations, or specialized production.

A centralized advertising division can provide production services across several local television markets.

Self-service advertising systems can combine simplified video creation with eligible television or streaming media purchasing.

The financial value depends on the broadcaster's operating model.

Important factors include:

• Software expenses
• Technology licensing
• Employee time
• Creative review costs
• Advertiser acquisition expenses
• Media revenue
• Advertiser retention
• Campaign renewal
• Creative revision workload

Producing more speculative advertisements does not automatically produce higher profit.

Speculative creative becomes commercially valuable when it contributes to approved campaigns and continuing advertiser relationships.

Lower production expense also does not guarantee that advertisers will increase television spending.

Local businesses still evaluate media costs, audience relevance, competitive advertising options, and measurable customer response.

Where AI Video Advertising Still Faces Operational Limits

AI video ad generation works particularly well with structured information, approved brand assets, straightforward promotional messages, and repeatable editing requirements.

More complex advertising projects still depend heavily on professional creative judgment and production resources.

Automated systems can struggle when a business has limited usable imagery or poorly maintained online information.

A commercial generated from incomplete information can contain inaccurate details or generic content that does not represent the advertiser effectively.

Products requiring technical demonstrations, specialized filming, or carefully controlled visual descriptions can be less suitable for highly automated production.

Brand differentiation is another consideration.

If many advertisers rely on similar templates, their commercials can develop comparable scene structures, narration patterns, text treatments, and visual approaches.

Human editing and original creative assets help businesses develop more distinctive advertising.

AI systems also require controls for advertisements involving sensitive subjects, regulated products, health-related statements, financial offers, political advertising, and potentially misleading representations.

Automated production also does not solve television inventory limitations.

The availability and price of advertising placements depend on market conditions, programming, audience demand, inventory supply, and purchasing arrangements.

Commercial creation and media distribution therefore remain separate responsibilities even when a common advertising system connects them.

What the CBS Approach Means for the Future of Local TV Advertising

CBS's expansion of AI-assisted commercial creation illustrates a broader movement toward centralized creative systems that support local advertisers across multiple television markets.

The approach combines television distribution capabilities with software that makes commercial production more accessible.

Several developments are shaping this model.

AI-generated video can function as a practical sales demonstration for businesses considering television advertising.

Station groups can provide commercial creation services across larger geographic footprints.

Streaming television purchasing is becoming easier for smaller advertisers through simplified advertising interfaces.

Audience information, local targeting, and campaign reporting are becoming more closely connected with creative production.

Human review remains necessary for advertising accuracy, copyright, licensing, legal compliance, branding, and technical quality.

The next stage of AI-powered television advertising is likely to connect creative management, audience planning, advertiser approval, campaign distribution, and performance reporting more closely.

Such integration would allow advertising teams to manage more of the campaign process through connected systems.

For local television, AI video generation is best understood as part of a broader advertising operating model.

AI production technology reduces the work required to create an initial commercial.

Sales teams connect the commercial with advertisers.

Media systems distribute approved advertisements.

Audience systems determine eligible delivery.

Measurement systems assess exposure and customer response.

Creative management systems support revisions and localized versions.

The value of the complete process depends on creative accuracy, audience suitability, campaign execution, media efficiency, advertiser outcomes, and long-term customer relationships.

AI is therefore changing more than the editing process.

AI video generation is becoming part of the infrastructure through which local television stations create, sell, distribute, localize, measure, and manage advertising campaigns.

AI video ad generation is becoming a practical part of local television advertising rather than a separate creative experiment. CBS and other local broadcasters are using automated production to reduce the time, cost, and operational effort required to create commercials, especially for small and medium-sized businesses that may not have dedicated video production resources.

The larger opportunity comes from connecting AI creative production with local sales teams, audience data, broadcast inventory, connected TV, streaming distribution, localization, and campaign measurement. A single approved advertising concept can be adapted for different markets, offers, locations, and viewing environments while maintaining consistent brand messaging.

AI does not remove the need for human oversight. Advertisers and broadcasters still need to verify business information, promotional statements, copyright permissions, voice and likeness rights, technical specifications, disclosure requirements, and final creative quality. Audience targeting and attribution also remain separate challenges that cannot be solved by faster video generation alone.

For local television stations, the strongest use of AI is therefore not simply generating more commercials. It is building a more efficient advertising workflow that moves from business information to creative production, advertiser approval, media distribution, localization, measurement, and campaign renewal. As these systems become more connected, AI-assisted commercial production is likely to become a standard component of how local television advertising is created, sold, and managed.

AI Video Ad Generation for Local TV: FAQs

How are CBS and local TV stations using AI for video advertising?

CBS and local television stations are using AI-assisted production systems to create commercials from business information, approved images, logos, promotional offers, scripts, voiceovers, music, and other marketing assets. The technology can automate much of the initial production process while human teams review the finished advertisement before broadcast or streaming distribution.

Why are local TV stations adopting AI video ad generation?

Local TV stations are adopting AI video generation to reduce the time, cost, and production effort involved in creating commercials. The technology is especially useful for small and medium-sized businesses that want television advertising but do not have their own video production teams or large creative budgets.

How does AI create a local television commercial?

AI commercial production usually begins with business information and approved creative assets. The system can generate advertising copy, organize a storyboard, select visuals, create synthetic narration, add music and text overlays, and assemble the scenes into a finished video. Human reviewers then check accuracy, branding, permissions, timing, and technical quality.

Can AI generate a TV commercial in minutes?

AI systems can generate an initial commercial draft within minutes when sufficient business information and usable creative assets are available. However, generating a draft is different from producing a broadcast-ready advertisement. Advertiser approval, factual review, copyright checks, revisions, audio inspection, and technical preparation can require additional time.

How can AI video ads help local TV sales teams?

Local television sales teams can use AI-generated commercials as speculative ads that show potential advertisers what their television campaign could look like. A business can review an example containing its branding, products, services, visuals, and promotional message before committing to a larger advertising campaign.

Can the same AI-generated commercial be used on broadcast TV and connected TV?

A common advertising concept can be adapted for linear broadcast television, connected TV, and streaming video when the creative meets each distribution system's requirements. Different channels can require different formats, approval procedures, campaign settings, trafficking instructions, and measurement methods.

How does AI support localized television advertising?

AI can create multiple versions of an approved commercial for different cities, stores, service areas, languages, and promotions. Advertisers can keep core branding consistent while changing location names, contact information, offers, narration, calls to action, and selected visuals for individual markets.

What metrics should broadcasters measure when using AI video advertising?

Broadcasters should measure both production efficiency and advertising performance. Useful metrics include creative turnaround time, production cost per approved commercial, revision frequency, approval rate, advertiser conversion rate, campaign reach, frequency, cost per thousand impressions, attributed customer actions, and advertiser renewal rate.

Does AI remove the need for human review of television commercials?

No. Human review remains necessary for checking prices, offers, business information, copyright permissions, voice and likeness rights, promotional statements, branding, disclosure requirements, audio quality, video quality, and broadcast specifications. AI can automate production tasks, but advertisers and broadcasters remain responsible for the accuracy and suitability of the final commercial.

What is the future of AI video advertising for local television stations?

AI video advertising is moving toward a more connected workflow that combines commercial creation, advertiser approval, localization, audience planning, broadcast and streaming distribution, campaign measurement, and creative revisions. The larger opportunity for local television is not simply producing more videos. It is creating a faster and more manageable advertising process from initial business information through campaign delivery and renewal.