By Sarah Lewis, Global Vice President, CTV at ShowHeroes Group
Combining internet connectivity with built-in app functionality, our smart TVs have turned a once passive viewing experience into an interactive digital shopping platform. Viewers can see an ad on screen, scan a QR code, and the product could arrive as soon as the next day. It’s a streamlined process that once lived in fiction, like Wonka’s chocolate materializing from a television set.
The shoppability of the CTV experience is poised to become even more frictionless with the increasing presence of voice activated devices in our homes. This is creating a powerful new touchpoint for advertisers to interact with audiences via their TV sets. Here’s how advertisers will leverage the technology in 2026 to push brand engagement to new heights:
Alexa, what should I watch?
Consumers are in love with streaming—this year, connected TV continued its steady rise, reaching 96.4 million U.S. households according to Comscore’s 2025 State of Streaming report. Having surged past both cable and broadcast combined, it’s safe to say viewing habits have changed, as people move to ad-supported TV for affordability, while also enjoying the convenience of streaming. Meanwhile, ownership of smart speakers continues to grow, with almost a third of U.S. adults using voice assistants in their home.
This combination of smart TVs and voice-enabled devices is ushering in a new era of marketing opportunities, and brands that harness it are the ones that will thrive in 2026. Voice technology— whether through smart speakers or integrated into the CTV itself —provides a powerful point of interaction, a chance to move a consumer closer to purchase by removing barriers.
One example could be a user being served an ad on their smart TV and being able to immediately add the product to their online cart using a simple voice command. A bespoke CTA might also be used to pull up information about the product or service, access to previews, handy promo codes or directions to their nearest branch. Think ads before a sporting event prompting viewers about to watch the match to use a specific command to get discounted half-time food delivery. The creative possibilities are almost endless.
The benefit of context
But brands that perform the best will be the ones dialling into those 13.9 billion streaming hours by paying very close attention to context. Producing ads that find the right audience at exactly the right time requires a deep dive into rich CTV contextual data, assessing not just the show someone is watching and the sentiment of the content, but type of device, time of day, adjacent content categories and a whole host of other factors.
A study conducted by ShowHeroes found that 43% of users had searched for a product after seeing it during a contextually relevant CTV ad, with 1 in 5 also recalling having purchased a product off the back of a CTV ad. Add in the enhanced interactivity of voice commands, and the prospect of contextual CTV ads becomes even more compelling, opening the door to highly shoppable, performance-driven campaigns.
Another win with contextual targeting in CTV is that it doesn’t require a viewer’s personal data to provide an experience that feels tailored and relevant. It’s fun and personalised, without the privacy issues.
Creative flexibility
As well as smoothing the purchasing pathway, ads utilizing voice commands provide limitless potential for creatively ambitious brand-led CTV campaigns. Skincare brand Estée Lauder, for instance, ran a Spotify campaign that included a custom command for a free sample plus access to a curated playlist. Mondelez India’s Cadbury 5 Star ads urged people to put their smart speaker in ‘do nothing mode’, allowing them to enjoy a chocolate break while Google sassily refused to help them with anything else. Just like Alexa’s Downton Abbey Experience to promote the movie, voice prompts could unlock behind-the-scenes content, quizzes, and reminders to buy tickets.
It’s the inherent flexibility of voice commands that will unleash a new phase of creativity in CTV campaigns. The fragmented nature of streaming environments means there is a constant battle for our attention. Brands need to leverage the most innovative ways to engage and interact with users. And what could be more interactive than voice?
CTV advertising is one of the fastest-growing areas of marketing worldwide, and voice commands are the new frontier. It’s not a chocolate bar coming through your TV, but it’s getting pretty close.
