AI and Healthcare Take the Center Stage at the Super Bowl
Companies are looking to build trust with wider audiences.
Super Bowl commercials are the most expensive ads in the world. Each one costs more than $8 million for just 30 seconds of airtime and access to roughly 120 million viewers at the same time. That rare mass audience makes the game a powerful stage for industries trying to become household names. For decades, Super Bowl ads were dominated by beer, soda, and car companies. But in 2026, the lineup looked different. AI firms, healthcare companies, sports-betting platforms, and delivery apps flooded the broadcast. The shift shows how the Super Bowl acts as a yearly snapshot of which industries want mainstream attention.
Artificial intelligence companies were some of the biggest new advertisers. Just a few years ago, most Super Bowl viewers had never used an AI chatbot. Now, multiple companies are competing to introduce their tools to the general public at the same time. Ads from firms behind chatbots, AI tools, and smart devices focused on making the technology feel less intimidating. This matters because AI still faces a major trust problem: layoffs, job fears, and confusion about how the technology works have made many people uneasy. The Super Bowl offered a rare chance to introduce AI advances to a mass audience in a way that seemed more human.
Healthcare ads were unusually common this year as well, promoting cancer screening, kidney disease testing, telehealth services, and new weight-loss drugs. Many of these commercials spoke directly to viewers as consumers, encouraging them to get tested or explore new services. This shift shows how healthcare is being marketed more like a consumer product than ever before. Instead of focusing on hospitals or illness, many ads framed healthcare as proactive and consumer-friendly. The message was clear: companies are trying to position healthcare as a lifestyle market, not just a medical system. So while AI firms and healthcare companies compete for the public’s trust, only time will tell if people respond positively.
Questions:
Why did AI and healthcare companies advertise heavily at the Super Bowl?
Do you think the AI and healthcare ads you watched during the Super Bowl were effective? Why or why not?
Eric Deggans, “Between the Ads for AI and Sportsbetting, These Super Bowl Commercials Stood Out,” NPR, February 9, 2026; Dee-Ann Durbin, Mae Anderson and Wyatte Grantham-Philips, “Super Bowl Commercials Try To Overcome Tough Times with Health, Caring and the Usual Laughs,” Associated Press, February 9, 2026.
