Political campaigns have poured $137 million on AI-made ads ahead of a crucial midterm—after spending virtually nothing last election cycle

Just two years ago, ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the use of AI in political ads was nearly unheard of. Today, it’s a nine-figure budget line.

A new report from the Wesleyan University-based research group Wesleyan Media Project found more than $137 million in spending on 220 campaign videos made at least partly with AI through Oct. 11, ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. By comparison, the group detected less than $50,000 in spending on AI-generated ads in 2024 campaigns.

“It is a large number, definitely, especially when you consider we went from about zero in spending on AI ads in the last election cycle,” Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project and professor of political science at Washington State University, told Fortune. “That’s what’s really striking.”

The magnitude of funding being poured into AI ads is not just evidence of how consequential this election cycle is, but also how pervasive artificial intelligence has become in content creation. The use of AI can range from a replacement for stock footage like a handshake to the likeness of a candidate. But the broad use of AI without much restriction or regulation has raised concern among both candidates and researchers about the spread of misinformation from the ads. More than 70% of AI campaign videos did not contain a disclaimer or disclosure that they were........

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