Technologies

Super Bowl LX: Here Are the AI-Related Ads Coming to the Big Game

Freaky robots get their drink on, a furniture designer turns to AI for a website, and more.

Are you ready for some football? Super Bowl LX pits the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8. (Here’s how to watch.)

For fans of the Hawks (like me!) and Pats, the actual game is what matters. But like with every Super Bowl, everything around it also garners attention, from the Bad Bunny-led halftime show to the iconic commercials. Because 2026 is shaping up to be the year of AI, artificial intelligence will play a big part in Sunday’s Super Bowl ads.

This isn’t new. AI ads were part of last year’s Super Bowl, too, with everyone from actor Walton Goggins to The Muppets promoting AI in some form.

Some of the AI-related Super Bowl ads have already been released, or the companies making them are talking about them. Here’s what we know is coming so far, and we’ll add more as it’s revealed.

For more, check out our broad roundup of Super Bowl commercials. Not all of them involve AI.

Svedka Vodka: Terrifying disco robots

From the second the unnerving lipsticked robot knocks on the camera, this Svedka Vodka ad is sci-fi all the way. The robot is a retired Svedka mascot called the Fembot (which makes me think of the Bionic Woman villain, but I am GenX). The company says the ad was «created by humans in partnership with robots (aka artificial intelligence).» The robots are freakishly smooth and scary; they take over the dance floor from the humans, and when the male one (BroBot) actually drinks the vodka, it pours out red liquid that looks like he’s hemorrhaging from his throat, and then he also… catches on fire?

Wix: Making websites with AI

Wix is a website-building company, and its Super Bowl ad will promote its Wix Harmony platform, which incorporates AI into its website creation tools. The commercial is about a woman who wants Wix Harmony to help her make a website for her handmade furniture business, which seems like exactly the kind of job AI will eliminate.

OpenAI: Who knows?

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT and the text-to-video maker Sora, will run a Super Bowl commercial, according to The Wall Street Journal. But with just days until the big game, the ad hasn’t been released yet. Last year’s OpenAI Super Bowl ad used dots to create images of iconic inventions and discoveries, from fire and the wheel to trains, jets and the moon landing, with the tagline, «All progress has a starting point.»

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Meta: Oakley glasses

You might think your smartphone already gives you a camera in your pocket at all times, but maybe you want to wear that camera on your face? Meta, the owner of Facebook, has released a short teaser video for its 2026 Super Bowl ad, which will promote Oakley-branded AI glasses. These aren’t being pitched to capture your baby’s first steps; everyone in this ad is apparently an X Games-style superjock. If this seems vaguely familiar, it is. During the 2025 Super Bowl, Meta ran an ad showing actors Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth wearing AI glasses to view Kardashian mom Kris Jenner’s art collection.

Technologies

Formula 1 Fans Can Now Explore Race Circuits With Apple’s New Maps Guide

F1 fans can get revved up for the approaching season with a tech boost from Apple Maps.

If you’re a Formula 1 fan and have your iPhone handy, you might want to check out Apple Maps. Apple on Wednesday added a new guide for its Maps app showcasing the race tracks for next month’s Australian Grand Prix.

Users can explore a detailed, 3D version of Melbourne’s Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit directly in Apple Maps and find details for all 24 tracks of the season with the Formula 1 Tracks From Around The World guide. It can also be found on the Apple TV Formula 1 Channel.

Currently, the only location done up in 3D is the Albert Park map, where you can explore the F1 Pit Garage, stadiums and more. Apple will continue to add more 3D tracks throughout the year.

The updated maps include:

Grand Prix Elements: Kerbs are shown on the maps to match the real-life experience, along with grandstands and pedestrian footbridges, all in 3D and labeled. All 14 of the circuit’s turns are also labeled.
Pop-Up Locations: Attendees will easily find entrance gates, restrooms, water stations, first aid and merchandise stands. Walking paths are shown directly on the maps, with walking directions available for grandstands.
3D Grand Prix Circuit Landmarks: The Pit Building, Lakeside Stadium (Bob Jane Stadium), Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Center, and the Finish Line are all prominently highlighted and showcased.
3D Melbourne Landmarks: Attendees looking to explore further can find several of Melbourne’s landmarks detailed in 3D in Maps.

Last year, Apple paid $140 million for exclusive F1 streaming rights in the US.

Technologies

Instagram Will Alert Parents if Teens Repeatedly Search for Self-Harm and Suicide Terms

The change applies to accounts using parental supervision tools.

Instagram will soon alert some parents if their teen repeatedly tries to search for terms related to suicide or self-harm within a short period. Instagram owner Meta said on Thursday that it’s rolling out the new notifications to parents in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, with other regions to follow later this year.

Thursday’s update follows the 2024 introduction of teen accounts. It applies to parents using the platform’s optional parental supervision setting, which requires consent from both teens and their parents to participate. Parental supervision allows parents to see the accounts their teen follows, set a time limit for how long their teen can use the app and more.

If teens repeatedly make suicide-related searches, parents will receive alerts via in-app notifications and email, text or WhatsApp, depending on available contact information. In addition to informing parents of their teen’s searches, notifications will allow them to «view expert resources designed to help them approach potentially sensitive conversations with their teen,» according to Meta.

Meta said it would prompt an alert if a teen attempted to search for phrases promoting suicide or self-harm and phrases that suggest a teen wants to harm themselves. The company said its policy is to block searches for self-harm and suicide content and direct people to resources and helplines.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 27 #726

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Feb. 27, No. 726.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle was tough for me. Some of the answers are long and difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: It’s a little much

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Whoa, that’s plenty!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

LURE, HARK, HARKEN, LATE, SORE, ROSE, TEAL, LATER, GLUE, GLUED, PLUS, LESS, GLARE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

GLUT, EXCESS, SURPLUS, OVERKILL, REDUNDANCY

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is ENOUGHALREADY. To find it, start with the E that’s four letters to the right on the top row, and wind down and around.

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