The AI Arena on 'Big Brother' Returns Two Players to the Block on Eviction Night

You didn't think we would get a season of Big Brother full of twists without having the live eviction night changed a bit, did you? Because, thanks to this season's AI assistant Ainsley, the live eviction night each week also features the AI Arena, which is just another in a string of unexpected twists that viewers and houseguests didn't see coming.

But how does the AI Arena work on Big Brother? Unlike the other twists, like the Deep Fake HOH and America's Veto, this isn't a prize to be won. Instead, it's a brand new competition that coincides with the producers' decision to add a third person to the number of houseguests the HOH has to nominate this week. There's a lot going on, and fans can barely keep up. But, you know, in a good way.

According to Ainsley, who shared details with the houseguests on the show, the AI Arena is a competition that takes place live each week on Thursdays. The three houseguests who are on the block compete in this game to eliminate one of them from threat of eviction. The winner of the three-person comp gets to remove themselves from the block.

Then, the remaining two houseguests stay on the block for the other players to vote on which of them gets the boot. So technically, the house won't know which two players are even up for eviction until after the AI Arena competition on eviction night. But after the comp plays out, the show will have the standard two houseguests on the block for eviction, as is the norm.

Along with the twists from the Season 26 premiere came punishments for a couple of players. The players who are subject to being Big Brother "mascots" can't compete in other competitions, but they are eligible to participate in the AI Arena. So if they happen to find themselves on the block, they do get one final chance to take themselves off before the live vote happens.

When Ainsley explains to the houseguests how the AI Arena works, she doesn't give them a timeline for the comp. That means the AI Arena could be permanent for the duration of Season 26. Or, at the very least, until the houseguests make it to the point in the season where they are eligible to move on to the jury house if they're evicted.

Regardless of how long the AI Arena lasts, though, it's another big twist to the game that viewers hadn't seen before now. And it means that there's even more blood on the hands of each weekly HOH.

Watch Big Brother on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on CBS and Paramount Plus.

*Note: Beginning with the July 25 episode, the show moves to 8 p.m. EST on Wednesdays and Thursdays.