The Block‘s decision to use AI this year has sparked controversy, with longtime fans voicing their fury.
The Channel Nine show has used AI for graphics and music, while the contestants used AI for design inspiration for their renovations, as part of a partnership with Google.
Amid the uproar, New Idea spoke to the 2026 teams about the introduction of AI on the show, asking them whether they believe it gives them an unfair advantage, after some fans argued it was “cheating” to use AI for renderings.
Chantel and Wyatt argue that it didn’t make things any easier for them, insisting it wasn’t a situation where you could copy the designs which AI created.
“I’m sure a lot of contestants in the past have used things like Pinterest to get ideas and things like that,” Chantel says.
“But with the AI, I mean, you can prompt it to generate a room that looks really good. But a lot of the time, it’s probably not exactly how you want to look.
“Anytime I used it, I was like, okay, yeah, sure, I can get a better understanding, but I never really found anything that I loved that I’d copy piece to piece, you know what I mean?
“So it doesn’t, to me, I feel like it didn’t make it any easier for us.
“It was still really hard, and we still had all of the same block box and things like that.
“So it was kind of hard to copy anything AI anyway because you only have what’s in the store, you know what I mean, through your block box.”
Wyatt firmly agrees, saying it is a more helpful tool for buyers to see how they could redesign a space, rather than for the teams in their renovations.
“It could help those if someone were to buy the house and they want to restyle the area, [it can give you] styling ideas changed from what we’d already done,” he explains.
“Like, that was a space where it could help, say, you want to buy the house, and you want to style it differently, that’s where the AI can be super useful for someone potentially buying it.
“But when you’re looking at like four blue walls with no plaster and nothing, it’s sort of hard to get it to give exactly what you’re going to use with the options that you have available.”
“We didn’t use it that much,” Chantel adds.
Lisa and Rosco agree, joking that they didn’t have the skills for it to give them an unfair advantage compared with past teams.
“I’m personally not technologically very advanced,” Lisa quips.
Rosco joked that while AI was helpful when filling in paperwork, they didn’t use it in their design work much.
Fan backlash to AI use
The use of AI on the 2026 series has sparked fan backlash, with many criticising the use of graphics and music.
Some fans argued it has been an “annoying” addition, with calls circulating for The Block to employ local musicians to provide the music instead.
“Please pay local artists,” one fan fumed on Facebook.
“Cringy and cheapens the show, not a fan,” another said.
“Horrible! Make it stop I beg them,” a third agreed.
“S**ts me,” another simply commented.
However, other fans argued that it brought some humour to the show, particularly the use of graphics – which even saw Rick transformed into a monkey!
The Block defends AI use
When approached about the backlash to the use of AI, The Block‘s post-production executive producer, David Barbour, says it is “understandable” for viewers to be surprised about the change.
“The Block has always embraced new ways of telling stories, which has been one of the reasons the show is now 22 seasons in. This season, AI has become another creative tool in our storytelling toolkit,” he tells New Idea.
“The heart of The Block remains exactly the same: great contestants, genuine emotion, incredible renovations and plenty of laughs. AI simply gives us more creative options to amplify those moments in entertaining and unexpected ways.
“Whether it’s the playful animations, talking animals or original music, AI gives our post-production team new ways to bring humour, personality and energy to moments that might previously have been difficult to communicate in an entertaining way. It’s not replacing the storytelling, it’s enhancing it.
“One of the unique things about The Block is that it attracts an incredibly broad audience, from young kids through to grandparents. We wanted to lean into tools that surprise people, make them smile and keep the storytelling feeling fresh, while still staying true to the spirit of the show.
“As with any creative evolution, some viewers will love it immediately, others may be surprised by it, and that’s completely understandable. We’ve been really excited to experiment with these new technologies, and we’ll continue using whatever creative tools help us tell the best and most entertaining version of the story.
“The music follows the same philosophy. Alongside our traditional music library, we’ve incorporated AI-generated music where it best serves the story. It allows us to create highly specific musical moments that perfectly complement the tone, humour and personality of a scene.
“For us, AI isn’t the story, it’s simply another exciting creative tool that helps us tell stories in new and entertaining ways.”
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