Long before AI entered the sporting mainstream, technology itself was the buzzword. Although its early interventions briefly disrupted the flow of the game; over the years, sport has steadily adapted to innovation, fans soon accepted features like Hawk-Eye, DRS, and VAR as essential tools that enhanced accuracy, fairness, and efficiency. AI is now in its most transformative phase within the sports ecosystem.

Its impact will go well beyond what happens on the field. From identifying grassroots talent to shaping auctions, drafts, performance analytics, broadcasting, marketing, and fan engagement, AI will influence every critical touchpoint of modern sport. Unlike earlier technological shifts that required fans to adjust, AI will blend effortlessly into sport, normalising its presence rather than drawing attention to it.

One of the most significant shifts will be in fan engagement and sponsor activation. A defining early example came in 2017, when Wimbledon, in partnership with its long-time sponsor IBM, introduced the 'Cognitive Highlights' package powered by IBM Watson. The innovation reduced highlight turnaround time from nearly an hour to just 15 minutes allowing fans to catch up almost in real time, with an experience close to watching the match live. 

The system analysed data from multiple sources and used AI-driven components to automatically curate match highlights, delivering faster, sharper, and more relevant content. For Wimbledon, this marked a strategic shift towards operating like a modern media organisation reducing reliance on third-party broadcasters and gaining greater control over its content ecosystem. Just as importantly, it helped Wimbledon connect with a new generation of fans – 'the short-attention-span audience' consuming sport through Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and other digital platforms. In 2017, Cognitive Highlights registered 14.4 million net new views and a 252% increase in highlights over 2016 quietly established AI as a foundational force shaping the future of sports content and storytelling.. It remains as a classic case study demonstrating how a sponsor brand can effectively leverage sport to elevate fan experience and redefine how the game is consumed through brand-led innovation.

As AI continues to evolve, such applications will no longer be exceptions. They will define how fans experience sport, how brands activate sponsorships, and how sporting properties remain relevant in an increasingly on-demand, content-driven world.

In 2021, PepsiCo’s Lay’s campaign featuring Lionel Messi marked a defining moment in AI-led sports marketing. Using deepfake technology, the brand created customised video messages from Messi in 8-10 different languages, allowing fans to select their preferred language and receive a personalised message. The campaign generated over 650 million impressions, demonstrating how technology could move sports communication from mass messaging to meaningful one-to-one engagement.

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) faced a major challenge - player unavailability and logistical constraints threatened to delay the launch of their new kits for a global fanbase of over 180 million. Instead of compromising on quality or timelines, PSG turned to AI. Using a combination of AI-generated imagery, image upscaling, and final Photoshop refinements, the club created a fully AI-produced photoshoot that accurately replicated player likenesses and kit details. The result was a seamless, high-impact launch executed within four weeks where most fans were unaware the visuals weren’t traditionally shot. What began as a logistical hurdle became a powerful marketing play, proving that when used intelligently, AI can transform constraints into creative advantage.

Over the last few years, machine learning and data-driven communication have steadily experimented with personalised and geographically contextual storytelling, especially during live IPL broadcasts. Brands began triggering hyperlocal creatives where a Swiggy ad could speak about vada pav to a Mumbaikar and vada sambar narratives to audiences in Chennai or Bengaluru. This contextual relevance, rather than sheer volume of advertising, became a key reason for the surge in digital platforms like JioHotstar during IPL live viewing. It also opened up IPL ad breaks to local and hyperlocal brands, who could now participate meaningfully without competing with national advertisers on scale alone.

As the upcoming IPL seasons unfold, AI-embedded solutions are likely to redefine sponsorship far beyond the traditional visibility-led model. Sponsorships will increasingly integrate into the live viewing experience itself, enhancing relevance, interaction, and customer engagement while the game is being watched. When brands are willing to take bigger risks and meaningfully explore experience-driven sponsorships, the association moves from transactional to truly intentional. 

Mass creative generation, such as Cadbury Fuse’s AI-driven, audience and geography-specific content, will soon become a baseline expectation rather than an innovation. The real differentiator will be how boldly brands explore AI to convert sponsorships into true consumer experiences. Those willing to take that leap will treat sponsorship not as media inventory, but as a powerful engagement platform. The rest may simply buy ad spots and play it safe.

Contextual to commerce

In the next phase of sports sponsorships, AI will quietly rewire the entire brand ecosystem around the IPL, not just at the broadcast layer. Take a paint, cement or home solutions brand for eg; along with jersey and in-stadia visibility such as perimeter boards, AI can enable its dealer and electrician network or painters to become micro-creators during the tournament. An electrician in Indore or a cement dealer in Coimbatore or a painter in Ranchi could generate hyper-local, personalised video content featuring AI-powered celebrity or cricketer messaging tailored to regional languages, defining moments, or even match outcomes. What was once a central campaign becomes a distributed, localised activation at scale, driving footfalls and trade engagement while staying culturally relevant.

Auto brands, meanwhile, can transform sponsorship into a complete participative experience. Imagine an IPL winning team’s victory lap not just inside the stadium, but extended digitally across the country where fans from any city can join the celebration virtually inside the official sponsor car. Using AI with real-time post-match atmosphere, fans could experience a personalised victory ride, create shareable content with players, or unlock regional dealer offers tied to the win. Sponsorships then move from passive association to collective participation, where brands, dealers, players, and fans co-create moments, measured not in impressions, but in engagement, leads, and long-term loyalty. AI-powered gamification thus bridges the gap between stadium experiences and digital platforms, turning fan engagement into measurable commercial impact.

AI is no longer a tool anymore; it’s a player on the field and a force off it. The real question is not whether sport will change, but whether brands and fans are ready to play along. It will shape how sport is played, watched, interacted and monetised. As it transforms both the game and the business around it, the only choice left for brands is simple - adapt, or watch from the sidelines.

The author is founder, Emurge Sports.