Add commercial actor to the list of jobs assumed by robots.

Brands often rely on familiar celebrities when creating their pricey Super Bowl ads, but many of the protagonists during Sunday night’s game were anything but human.

Sprint Corp. , Anheuser-Busch InBev SA’s Michelob Ultra, Intuit Inc.’s TurboTax and Simplisafe Inc. were among the Super Bowl advertisers with commercials featuring robots in key parts, a creative trend that reflects the mood and anxieties of a society confronted with new, life-altering technology and artificial intelligence.

TurboTax’s ad was perhaps the most on the nose, reassuring viewers that a robot couldn’t replace a human certified public accountant.

When TurboTax’s RoboChild says it wants to be a TurboTax Live CPA when it grows up, it gets shot down by a woman who says, “All TurboTax Live CPAs are human beings with live emotions. I’m sorry. You’re never going to be emotionally complex enough for that job.”

“I’m sad,” responds RoboChild, which then laughs strangely as it tries to work out the emotion of sadness.

In Sprint’s ad, spokesman Paul Marcarelli asks his robot companions, “How do we tell people they get the best of both worlds with Sprint?”

TurboTax’s Super Bowl ad sought to reassure viewers that a robot couldn’t replace a human accountant. Photo: TurboTax/Associated Press

“How about we get two-sport legend Bo Jackson holding a mermaid playing a guitar?” one of the robots suggests.

Michelob Ultra’s commercial shows a humanoid robot outperforming humans at running, golf, spin class and other athletic endeavors, only to stare longingly through the window when people gather for a beer.

“It’s only worth it, if you can enjoy it,” the on-screen text reads.

Robot drama isn’t completely new to the big game. In 2007, General Motors Co. created an ad about an assembly-line robot that dreams about committing suicide. The company later removed the suicide reference following backlash.

The new emphasis on robots indicates that technology is top of mind for consumers, said Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

“The advertisements on the Super Bowl reflect the growth of technology and the fact that people are nervous about how it can be used,” he said.

Super Bowl advertising is generally a good way to interpret what people are thinking about, he said. Two years ago, many ads embraced diversity and inclusion just after an election that divided the country on topics like immigration, for example.

Fears about job loss remain high, with automation being one of the top concerns, according to the latest Trust Barometer from public-relations agency Edelman. More than half of employed respondents cited fear of automation, in addition to “not having the training and skills necessary to get a good paying job” and the effect of “international conflicts about trade policies and tariffs,” according to the study.

While the ads may have reflected a societal anxiety or disruption, their tone was largely positive. Most of the advertisers dreamed up robots and technology that didn’t appear threatening, Mr. Calkins said. “The vast majority of the robots were not scary robots,” he said. “They were these friendly, personal and sometimes sad robots.”

Simplisafe’s darker ad, which shows a man talking about robots taking jobs while a robot casually lurks behind him, was the exception.

The robocentric Super Bowl ads didn’t make that much of a stir on social media as they aired, however. Five commercials featuring robots and artificial intelligence, including ads from Kellogg Co. ’s Pringles and Skechers USA Inc., accounted for only 2% of overall “digital share of voice” across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and searches, according to ad-tracking company iSpot.tv.

By comparison, Verizon Communications Inc. alone commanded 11% of the digital activity following its ad about the role its technology plays for first responders and the victims they are rescuing.

Perhaps the theme also reflects the anxieties of Madison Avenue grappling with disruption from technology, as new tools and platforms change how advertisers interpret consumer behavior and even create and distribute ads.

“Adland is trying to convince us all that robots won’t replace us,” Sarah Hofstetter, president at Comscore and a former ad-agency chief executive, wrote on Twitter during the game.

Write to Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

Kellogg Co. owns Pringles. An earlier version of this article misstated the brand’s parent company as PepsiCo. (Feb. 5)