Will Prime Video’s increasing use of AI help it turn a profit?
Will Prime Video’s increasing use of AI help it turn a profit?
Representatives from the streamer talked about its use of AI this week, pointing out all the ways it could help boost engagement with the platform.
The debate over artificial intelligence and its proper uses isn’t going away any time soon. But Amazon’s streaming service Prime Video has already taken a side; Prime Video is continuing to boost its usage of AI on its platform, and as reported by Deadline, executives from the company spoke about how they’ll continue to incorporate it at a conference at Amazon’s Culver City headquarters on Wednesday.
Key Details:
- Better search results: Suggestive topics generated by an AI tool should help users find new titles more easily.
- Not just on-demand: Amazon is also using AI to recap live events on Prime Video.
- Get the picture?: Prime Video also uses AI to improve picture quality.
The uses of AI at Prime Video have been well-documented in recent months. Like other streamers, Prime Video is using artificial intelligence to focus search parameters more specifically to the titles they might want to watch, based on past search history. The AI tool might suggest things like “zombie-based thrillers” or other specified genres to lead customers to a new title more quickly.
Prime Video is also leveraging AI in recaps of its content. It announced in November 2024 that its X-Ray feature would begin using AI to recap TV shows and movies to help viewers catch up, but it has also been using this same tool to recap live events like “Thursday Night Football” games. AI is also used in “TNF” broadcasts during the Prime Vision broadcast to show viewers which players might be open on a play, or which defender might blitz.
There are other ways that Amazon has integrated AI into its streaming platform that customers may not see as easily. The streamer is using AI to help improve the picture quality for its content, especially for live events and older content that wasn’t filmed in high definition.
“We’re investing in AI to protect picture quality, even if details are lost at low bit rates, say, for example, over mobile networks,” Prime Video executive Tricia Lee said. “We also see opportunity in AI-based remastering to convert standard definition content into high definition, which we think not only creates a higher quality viewing experience, but preserves creative intent and enhances the value of [an] SD catalog.
But what is the point of Amazon’s increasing usage of AI? It’s all about engagement. Despite being able to nominally claim a subscriber base of 200 million, the streamer still isn’t profitable in its own right. The vast majority of users have a Prime Video account because it comes as a benefit of their Prime subscription, and increasing the amount of streamer usage by these users is crucial to enhancing the revenue that Prime Video brings in.
That means the streamer will use every tool at its disposal, and AI can be a powerful helper in that regard. If people see the use of AI on Prime Video as meaningfully improving the service’s user experience, it will go a long way toward bumping engagement to the level that the streamer wants.
Prime Video
Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.