Disney Plus Plans AI-Generated Content Creation Features Despite IP Protection Concerns

Disney Sees Potential in AI for Disney Plus Games and Short-Form Content

Though Kourtnee hasn't won any journalism awards yet, she's been a Netflix streaming subscriber since 2012 and knows the magic of its hidden codes. Disney has commenced the process for fully integrating Hulu into the Disney Plus streaming app, and while that's underway, CEO Bob Iger sees potential in artificial intelligence use on the platform. During the Walt Disney Company's fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday, he discussed how the unified app can serve as a "portal" for all of Disney's offerings by leveraging AI technology. "There's clearly an opportunity for commerce. There's an opportunity to use it as an engagement engine for people who want to go to our theme parks, want to stay in our hotels, who want to enjoy our cruises, our cruise ships," said Iger. "And obviously, there's a huge opportunity for games." Pointing to the company's partnership with Epic Games, Iger noted that while many of their collaborative projects will live on Epic Games' platform, the deal between the two companies "gives us an opportunity to integrate a number of game-like features into Disney Plus." Such a move would put the streamer on a path similar to Netflix, which already offers mobile gaming and is set to roll out video games on TVs. Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source. Iger shared that Disney has been having "productive" conversations with AI companies in the interest of boosting customer engagement while protecting its intellectual property. That includes AI tools that enhance the subscriber experience on its streaming platform. Additionally, the CEO discussed how Disney will use AI on the streaming service for the benefit of fans. "The other thing that we're really excited about -- that AI is going to give us the ability to do -- is to provide users of Disney Plus with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user-generated content, mostly short form from others." Does this mean TikTok-style videos are coming to the platform, or features like Netflix's Moments? Subscribers will have to wait and see, but Disney is optimistic about the strides it's making with AI tech.

The future of Disney Plus could involve AI-generated videos

Disney's plans for the future of its streaming service may involve AI-generated videos. During an earnings call on Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company is "really excited about AI," adding that the technology could allow Disney Plus to provide viewers with the ability to "create" and "consume" short-form AI videos. "There's phenomenal opportunities to deploy AI across our direct-to-consumer platforms, both to provide tools that make the platforms more dynamic and more sticky with consumers, but also to give consumers the opportunity to create on our platforms," Iger added. He didn't elaborate on how this might actually work, but I'm just hoping that I don't open Disney Plus one day and see a Sora-like stream of AI-generated clips. Disney reported adding 1.5 million subscribers in the US and Canada during the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing its total in North America to 59.3 million. It increased prices across its plans last month. Along with the potential for AI-powered video creation tools, Iger hinted at other ways Disney could expand its streaming app beyond just TV shows and movies. He said the company could integrate "game-like features" into Disney Plus through its partnership with Epic Games. Netflix has already made a big push into gaming, though it has since pulled some of the best indie games from its library and shut down the studio behind its Squid Game: Unleashed mobile game. Iger also mentioned Disney Plus having a "opportunity for commerce," allowing it to serve as an "engagement engine" for people looking to visit Disney's parks, stay at its hotels, or go on its cruises.

Disney+ may start hosting user-generated AI videos

During Disney's latest earnings call, CEO Bob Iger spoke about next steps for the Disney+ streaming service, and he noted that the entertainment giant has had "productive conversations" with potential AI partners. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney+ might soon play host to user-generated short-form AI videos. "The other thing that we're really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user generated content -- mostly short-form -- from others," Iger said. He didn't specify which companies Disney has been in talks with or offer any particularly timeline for the arrival of gen-AI features. There are already a bunch of ways for people to make and share AI slop videos, so this isn't a new concept he's touting. But it is a surprising direction for Disney, which has long been hawkish about protecting both its image and its IP. The company has already made legal moves against multiple different AI platforms, including a cease and desist sent to Character.AI and copyright infringement lawsuits against Midjourney and Hailuo. Iger said he hoped any partnership would "reflect our need to protect the IP," and it would almost certainly be a lucrative deal for Disney. But even within the confines of its own platform, this is still quite an about-face for the company to now encourage gen-AI creations of familiar characters.

Disney Is Getting in on AI Slop

During an earnings call with shareholders today, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the company's streaming platform, Disney+, is preparing to expand with new elementsâ€"including ways for subscribers to share and create Disney-themed content with generative AI. "The other thing that we’re really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience," Iger told shareholders (via the Hollywood Reporter), "including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user-generated contentâ€"mostly short-formâ€"from others." According to the CEO, Disney+ will also soon include new gamified experiences as part of the studio's partnership with Epic Games, which so far has mostly existed as a series of Disney collaborations for Fortnite, including seasons based on Star Wars and The Simpsons. The Star Wars season of Fortnite infamously introduced an AI-voiced Darth Vader companion, who had to be promptly updated when players immediately started getting the generated voice of the late James Earl Jones to use slurs. Iger described the additions as "the biggest and the most significant changesâ€"from a product perspective, from a technology perspectiveâ€"since we launched the service in 2019." Externally, Disney, like other Hollywood studios, has been openly bullish about the rise of generative AI, joining lawsuits alongside other studios such as Universal and Warner Bros. to sue AI companies like Midjourney and MiniMax, arguing that their generative AI platforms are infringing on their copyrighted works by allowing users to create images of popular characters. But internally, beyond this new development, we've known for a while that Disney has been exploring the use of generative AI in its productions. A report from the Wall Street Journal in August this year alleged that Disney executives had attempted to pitch the use of generative AI systems on two of its projects, the live-action Moana remake and the then-upcoming Tron: Ares, only to find that the technology's use was stymied and ultimately dropped from both films out of a combination of concerns about Disney's copyrights and potential public backlash. Disney seems to have started trying to figure out its concerns about the former. In today's call, Iger said that the studio had had "productive conversations" with AI companies (which ones, exactly, Iger did not disclose) before noting he was hopeful those conversations could result in a deal that would "reflect our need to protect the IP." What Disney has yet to figure out is the latter concern of the public. Disney subsidiary Marvel Studios has already found itself facing blowback to the use of generative AI technology in the past, first in 2023, when the studio was lambasted for the opening credits of the Samuel Jackson MCU vehicle Secret Invasion, which were created with AI imagery. Earlier this year, Marvel had to defend itself from backlash alleging that a series of posters for The Fantastic Four: First Steps featured signs indicating the use of generative AI. The move to test that public reaction comes at a time when Disney has found public confidence in the studio damagedâ€"in part due to liberal concerns over the company's ongoing capitulations to the second Trump administration, and more pointedly recently when the studio faced a series of public boycotts over its decision to temporarily suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over commentary he made on the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Will the ability to make uncanny short videos of Grogu and Spider-Man be enough? Disney seemingly intends to find out.

Disney+ Will Allow Users to Generate Their Own "Frozen 3" Using AI

Disney is planning to flood its streaming service, Disney+, with user-generated AI slop. During the company's recent earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the streaming service is "in the midst of rolling out the biggest and the most significant changes" since its inception six years ago, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter. Specifically, Iger was referring to what sounds a bit like OpenAI's Sora: a service that allows users to generate AI content on the service. Why wait for the long-awaited sequel to Disney's "Frozen 2" when you can just cook up your own AI-generated take? "The other thing that we're really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user-generated content -- mostly short-form -- from others," Iger said. While plenty of questions remain about how exactly Disney is hoping to roll out the new feature, OpenAI's foray into user-generated AI slop should probably serve as a cautionary tale. The ChatGPT maker has attracted plenty of negative attention with its Sora app, from glaring instances of copyright infringement to users generating highly problematic content. Besides, as the Wall Street Journal reported in August, Disney had already scrapped several AI projects over legal concerns that using AI to clone actors could draw anger and retaliation from human performers and trade unions. Disney's latest gambit is an especially surprising development considering Disney's extensive efforts to protect its own intellectual property. Disney has fought to keep its own intellectual property from appearing in Sora, as Reuters reported in September. Disney also sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI, accusing it of using its copyrighted characters without permission. Iger claims that the company had "productive conversations" with yet-unnamed AI companies to reach an agreement that would "reflect our need to protect the IP," as per THR. Regardless, Disney will likely also have to double down on content moderation to ensure that the platform remains family-friendly -- which is far easier said than done, as previous failures to implement meaningful AI guardrails, including effective age restrictions, have demonstrated. Iger also hinted at the possibility of integrating a "number of game-like features into Disney+," based on its agreement with video game developer Epic Games. "The opportunity here, we think, is enormous in terms of increasing our engagement with Disney fans across the world," Iger gushed during this week's earnings call. But whether the reality of launching a short-form AI-generated content feature will live up to those lofty promises remains anything but certain. Given the mayhem that has unfolded following OpenAI's launch of its Sora app, Disney will likely have its work cut out to ensure that such a feature won't immediately plunge its streaming service into chaos. It certainly would be far from the first time Disney's IP has been abused with the help of AI on the web. A quick search on Sora reveals a litany of photorealistic renditions of Disney movie clips, among other videos featuring the company's widely known characters.

Disney+ Is About To Let Users Make AI Slop Of Its Characters

It shouldn't be surprising that Disney, the company that has become willing to degrade its boldest, most artistic endeavors for profit by churning out unnecessary sequels and bland live-action remakes, is talking to AI companies about letting fans make endless user-generated slop of their properties on Disney+. And indeed, the company that has changed IP law to keep Mickey Mouse out of the hands of the masses is now apparently doing just that. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney CEO Bob Iger said in the company’s latest earnings call that it is “in the midst of rolling out the biggest and the most significant changes â€" from a product perspective, from a technology perspective â€" since [Disney+] launched.†Part of this is a licensing agreement with Fortnite developer Epic Games to add “a number of game-like features†to the streaming service, and the other is working with unnamed AI companies to allow subscribers to create short-form video content based on Disney properties. “The other thing that we’re really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user-generated content â€" mostly short-form â€" from others,†Iger said. If you hear that and immediately think of how such an opportunity would obviously be exploited by people who want to make explicit or crude videos featuring Mickey Mouse and the rest of Disney's characters, Iger says that the company is seeking an arrangement that would “reflect [Disney's] need to protect the IP.†Good luck, bub. I expect the Zootopia stans to make short work of whatever safeguards you try to put on this garbage, and we’ll see Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps making out within the first hour. It’s pretty damning that Iger uses the words “content†and “consume†when talking about these hypothetical AI slop videos, because that’s all AI-generated videos are: time-wasting, artless content meant to be consumed and discarded. For a company that has been so particular about how its characters are used in the past, this is such a bald-faced heel turn. Disney’s films and characters have been such a major part of pop culture for so long because the company has always been pretty stringent about how its characters were used or portrayed, which made the brand synonymous with quality control (just ask anyone who works at a Disney park about the rules they have to follow in-character), so just letting the reins loose for cheap slop is a real mask-off moment for the company’s priorities.

Disney+ to Allow User-Generated Content Via AI

Don't want to wait until 2027 for Frozen 3? Soon, you may be able to make your own. On the company's fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings conference call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said Disney+ is "in the midst of rolling out the biggest and the most significant changes -- from a product perspective, from a technology perspective -- since we launched the service in 2019." Changes will include games -- or at least "a number of game-like features" -- on Disney+ through its agreement with Epic Games, he said. (The Epic Games deal is actually more about Disney IP being used on Epic's platform.) And there will also be gen-AI short-form user-generated content (UGC) on Disney+ in the future. "The other thing that we're really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user generated content -- mostly short-form -- from others," Iger continued. It sounds a bit like Disney plans to encroach on Open AI Sora's territory. (Or maybe it will just use Sora 2...) A bit later in the call, Iger said that Disney had "productive conversations" with unnamed AI companies, and that he hoped the studio giant could reach an agreement that would also "reflect our need to protect the IP." You can't let Lilo & Stitch get into the wrong hands. The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Disney to request more information on its Disney+ gen-AI UGC plans, but we did not immediately receive a response.

Disney+ Will Soon Feature AI-Generated User Content - IGN

Disney boss Bob Iger has said the company's streaming service will soon allow subscribers to create and view AI-generated content. Speaking during the company's latest earnings call, Iger said Disney+ would change to also host user-generated content for the first time, in a step that looks set to open the floodgates for fans keen to make their own creations featuring the likes of Darth Vader, Iron Man and characters from Frozen. "[We're] in the midst of rolling out the biggest and the most significant changes -- from a product perspective, from a technology perspective -- since we launched the service in 2019," Iger said, per The Hollywood Reporter. While the exact details are still to be announced, Iger suggested Disney+ subscribers would be able to generate and share content including short-form videos, and that it was currently having "productive conversations" with AI companies to balance user freedom with the need to "protect the IP." "The other thing that we're really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user generated content -- mostly short-form -- from others," Iger continued. Only last month, the launch of OpenAI's Sora 2 generative video app saw it flooded with AI versions of Disney characters, Pokémon and other licensed properties -- until the platform began clamping down on copyright-infringing material. Popular videos included examples of Mario and Pikachu in X-Wings or holding lightsabers -- something that likely raised eyebrows at Nintendo and Disney. But while Nintendo has warned it would take "necessary actions against infringement of our intellectual property rights", Disney appears ready to let fans create their own videos with Anna and Elsa -- as long as they're officially licensed, and said fans are paying Disney+ subscribers. In September, the famously litigious The Pokémon Company formally responded to the use of Pokémon TV hero Ash Ketchum and the series' theme tune by the Department of Homeland Security, as part of a video showing people being arrested and handcuffed by law enforcement agents. "Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content," a spokesperson told IGN, "and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property." Other changes coming to Disney+ will include "a number of game-like features," Iger suggested, without explaining further. Disney previously signed a $1.5 billion deal with Fortnite maker Epic Games that will see a major new Disney mode added to the game, and likely allow creators to begin building their own games using Disney assets. Image credit: Disney