Upward of 60% of locally produced radio commercials fail to meet effectiveness standards, with automotive and legal ads performing worst. That’s according to a six-month analysis of 5,693 spots across 108 markets by yaman.AI, and there’s a big reason why this is happening, he says.
“As radio stations nationwide grapple with AI adoption in creative departments, we’re seeing a troubling trend in commercial quality,” said Yaman Coskun, founder of yaman.AI and a former creative director with more than two decades in radio creative.
Coskun found through the study that 39% of local spots scored 8 or above on a 10-point effectiveness scale measuring factors including emotional resonance, brand recall, and call-to-action clarity. The February-July 2025 analysis spots across U.S. radio markets of all sizes. It revealed “significant performance gaps” by industry category:
- Automotive – average score: 5.0
- Legal – average score: 4.0
- Home Improvement – average score: 6.0
- Healthcare – average score: 7.0
- Retail – average score: 5.0
Using AI analysis, yaman.AI scored commercials on emotional impact, message clarity, brand recall, and call-to-action effectiveness, the methodology evaluated both creative execution and technical production quality.
The study identifies the culprit as the new alarming trend of radio leadership handing creative AI tools directly to sales staff, bypassing human radio creative professionals in cost-cutting efforts.
“Radio’s emotional power is built by humans for humans,” said Coskun. “The low-hanging fruit is enhancing creative by equipping human talent with AI, not replacing them. AI is not an excuse to fire people—it’s a revolution to empower them … The stakes are too high for ineffective advertising. Especially when the industry is reporting a chronically challenged spot revenue.”
Being a veteran of radio & Television ad sales for the past 30 years I have found it disturbing with the attitude towards radio creative. I have worked in markets of all sizes and there is a commonality between radio and TV at the Local level. Radio pays less attention to the creative process. Account Executives writing copy is the leader in terrible creative. Radio has burdened AE’s with everything but “SELLING” Most television stations have a creative department that adheres to the fundamentals of creative. TV takes the creative out of the AE’s hands. Rightfully so. Another factor I’ve seen in radio creative is the use of the same voice over on multiple clients commercials. There are commercial breaks that have the same station’s voices on all the commercials within that break. It’s insane we expect the campaign to be effective when this is happening. And wonder why we get “radio doesn’t work” Until this industry invests and adheres it fundamentals, we will continue to see the decline of the medium. AI is not the answer. Humans are.
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