Netflix reveals AI shaped 300 titles as Hollywood grapples with automation's growing reach

You've Probably Watched One of the 300 Titles on Netflix Produced With AI

Omar Gallaga has covered technology, digital culture and other topics for outlets including CNET, NPR, WIRED, Texas Monthly, MSNBC, Consumer Reports, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic and the Austin American-Statesman, where he was a longtime tech reporter, editor and podcaster. He lives in the Texas Hill Country. Netflix said last year it was experimenting with and debuting some of its first shows produced with artificial intelligence. Now, the company is reporting that generative AI was used in roughly 300 of its programs this year, mostly across production and especially postproduction. The disclosure was part of Netflix's second-quarter earnings report (PDF), published Thursday. The company's co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, framed the technology as a way to speed up work, cut costs and sometimes make shots that would otherwise be impossible. "In many of the cases, productions would have left out those key shots because they just wouldn't have been able to afford them, they wouldn't have been able to do them in the time frames that they're working on," Sarandos said. "Those sequences are saved by the availability and access to these gen AI tools." The list of titles that used AI includes shows like Glory, a sports thriller set in India, and the docuseries The American Experiment. Sarandos underlined how creators making shows or movies for Netflix are using AI as a tool to build "complicated shots and sequences." At the same time, Sarandos framed AI as a creative assist rather than a replacement, arguing that great films still depend on human artists and that AI simply gives "creators better tools to bring their visions to life." Netflix has been increasingly open about adopting AI across areas such as content discovery and advertising, as well as animation production. In March, the streaming giant acquired the Ben Affleck-founded InterPositive, which it said would equip filmmakers with AI tools throughout the production process. AI's complicated role in movies and TV Convulsive labor strikes by writers, actors and others in the industry shut down Hollywood productions in 2023 over the increasing threat of AI in replacing creative work and copyright issues. Since then, movie and TV studios, artists and craftspeople have been pushing back against the rapid evolution of AI technology. Take, for example, the major backlash against AI-generated performers like Tilly Norwood, driven by fears of labor replacement, unauthorized use of human performances and a lack of genuine emotional depth. Big studios and unions have, in some instances, joined forces to rally against AI video generators that could supplant traditional video production. And a recent contract change for child voice performers on the hit cartoon Peppa Pig drew protests after reports that Hasbro asked actors to sign over rights for AI use of their voices. Others in Hollywood, including Martin Scorsese, have hopped on the AI bandwagon. Meanwhile, studios and distributors (Netflix is both) are advancing live-action and animated projects that use AI for at least some elements of their production, even as questions remain about where they should draw the line. Using AI behind the scenes So far, there haven't been any widely recognized big-budget films or TV shows made entirely by AI, or featuring fully AI-generated performers. But the use of the technology behind the scenes, as Netflix is doing, is the most important application in entertainment, argues A.K. Pradeep, CEO and founder of SensoriAI, which has been doing AI production work for television productions in India. "Netflix is catching up to do this unsexy but super important job," Pradeep told CNET via email. While it may not sound glamorous, "shows win or fall based on production, camera work, sound and good direction." Pradeep said that AI can be used as a tool to quickly make technical decisions, freeing directors to focus on the big picture. "Who should the camera focus on and when? What angles are best? What do ratings data tell us about what worked and what did not? Those are all things AI can do well, and it can be the difference between the next big hit and a flop," he said.

Netflix says around 300 titles used generative AI

Netflix says roughly 300 titles on its platform used generative AI, most of which occurred in post-production. The streaming service revealed the news in its second-quarter earnings report released on Thursday, saying it's "increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost." It also provided some examples of titles that used AI, including Glory, Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri, and The American Experiment. These films used the technology to "create highly complex sequences," including "enhanced crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots." Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last year that it used AI to create a scene in the sci-fi series The Eternaut because it was faster and cheaper. The streaming giant has begun to invest more heavily in AI as the technology becomes more advanced, with Netflix acquiring Ben Affleck's AI startup and creating an AI animation studio. The service is also using the AI-generated voice of Gene Wilder in its new Wonka's The Golden Ticket reality show. Netflix reported earning $12.56 billion over the past few months, and says it's still on track to double its ad revenue to $3 billion. In its letter to shareholders, Netflix also addressed some concerns about engagement, which came up after a report from Bloomberg revealed that the streaming giant is struggling to keep viewers around for the second season of its shows. The service says "time spent is just one aspect of strong engagement," adding that "quality and variety also matter." It also highlights that its latest What We Watched report shows that subscribers watched over 97 billion hours, up 2 percent year over year. The company also announced that it will now switch to publishing this report just once per year, instead of twice. Netflix has started to introduce new types of content in a bid to compete with free-to-watch services like YouTube. In the past year, Netflix has rolled out video podcasts, TikTok-style clips, and most recently announced plans to stream videos created by digital media brands, like BuzzFeed, which would typically appear on YouTube. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Netflix is considering adding always-on channels.

Netflix says it's already used AI in 'roughly 300' titles this year - Engadget

Netflix hasn't made any secret of its interest in artificial intelligence, and now we have a sense of how those tools are being used in its content. "In 2026, GenAI workflows have been used in roughly 300 of our titles, with the largest concentration of work in post-production," according to the shareholder letter detailing its second-quarter financials. The company named three projects -- Glory (India), Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri (Brazil) and The American Experiment (US) -- that used generative AI "to create highly complex sequences," but the tech is becoming more widespread at this point. We already knew that Netflix had applied generative AI in at least one original show as of last July, but between making acquisitions and launching new specialized studios, its ambitions clearly extended further. The streamer went on to note in its earnings letter that "We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods." Here's the recurring reminder that yes, gen-AI is capable of making something much quicker than a VFX artist or animator. But it still takes some human touch to make sure the results actually work with the rest of the film or show. And just because AI can be a useful tool for skilled creators doesn't mean it should be tasked with replacing entire teams. Hopefully that's something Netflix and its partner studios understand as they continue to double down on the tech.

AI in Hollywood: Netflix, Nolan and the fight over who pays

In one week, Netflix admitted it used AI on 300 titles, an AI 'actress' landed a lead role, and the film industry's most bankable director called the technology a Trojan horse. AI in Hollywood is no longer a threat on the horizon. It is here. The fight over AI in Hollywood used to be about the future. This month it turned into a fight about the present. Within days, a studio, a director and a union each drew a line. The lines do not agree. Taken together, they show an industry that has already let the technology in. Now it is only arguing about the terms. The director's warning Christopher Nolan is not a man given to hype. His new version of "The Odyssey" is topping the box office. It is also the first feature shot entirely on Imax film. So when he talks about technology, Hollywood listens. Asked by interviewer Hugo Travers whether AI might be a modern Trojan horse, Nolan laughed. "I think AI is a Trojan horse that everybody knows the Greeks are inside," he said, in remarks reported by TechCrunch. He called it "a transparent horse, it's made of glass." What struck him was the public mood. "I've never seen a technology advancing so rapidly so completely rejected by the public," he said. He pointed to young people who dismiss AI slop on sight, and called that a healthy scepticism. Nolan is also president of the Directors Guild of America, which won AI protections in its last contract. He has reason to welcome the mood. The studio's admission Nolan's caution landed the same week as a blunter fact. In its second-quarter earnings, Netflix revealed a striking number. Generative AI shaped roughly 300 of its films and shows this year. The company framed the tools as a help to creators, speeding up effects and pre-production work. According to Variety, the figure covers titles across its 2026 slate, not a handful of experiments. For many viewers, the number itself was the shock. The quiet scale is the point. AI did not arrive with a single blockbuster. It seeped into hundreds of productions while the credits stayed the same. Netflix has been building this muscle for a while, having bought an AI filmmaking startup earlier this year. The actress who does not exist Then came the performer. In early July, the UK studio Particle6 revealed its plan. Its AI-generated "actress," Tilly Norwood, would take the lead in a feature film called "Misaligned". The plot, fittingly, casts her as an AI. SAG-AFTRA, the US performers' union, was unmoved. In a statement, it said Norwood "is not an actor." She is a character built by a program trained on countless performers "without permission or compensation." Creativity, it argued, should remain human-centred. The consent theme keeps recurring. The same union has urged members to opt out of Meta's Muse image tool, which could turn public photos into AI images. The pattern is the same as a music industry now wrestling with AI trained on artists who never agreed to it. Who gets paid Underneath the culture war sits a money question. If a studio uses a synthetic performer instead of a human, should it pay for the privilege? SAG-AFTRA thinks so. It has floated what negotiators call a "Tilly Tax." Studios would pay a royalty into a union fund whenever they use an AI actor in place of a real one. They are resisting, arguing that a wholly invented character is not the same as a digital copy of a real person. The stakes are largest in animation. A CVL Economics study put a number on it. Generative AI could erase or absorb about 118,500 US film, television and animation jobs by 2026. That is more than a fifth of the workforce. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the DreamWorks co-founder, has gone further. He predicts AI could wipe out 90% of animation artist jobs. The unions are digging in. The Animation Guild has won contract language forcing studios to bargain over AI's impact. SAG-AFTRA's 2026 deal carries a dozen AI provisions. The wider anxiety over AI and jobs has a sharp edge here. In animation, the craft and the paycheque are the same thing. The real fight Put the week together and a shape emerges. The technology is already inside the tent. The argument is no longer whether to use it, but who consents to it and who profits from it. That is why Nolan's image is so apt. A Trojan horse only works if you wheel it in yourself. Hollywood already has, in 300 Netflix titles and one glass-eyed AI lead. The next act will be written in contracts, not scripts. Can human performers keep a seat at the table, and a share of the money? That is the question the industry can no longer put off. The gift, as Nolan warned, has to be viewed with scepticism. Everybody can see what is inside.

Netflix has admitted to using AI on '300 movies and shows' in 2026 -- and I've never been more disappointed

* Streaming giant Netflix has revealed that 300 movies and shows used generative AI in 2026 * The news was shared in a shareholder letter, obtained by the website Kotaku * Generative AI was used to "enhance crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots." Netflix has recently admitted to using AI tools in a huge number of its movies and shows, with the shocking announcement delivered in its shareholder letter on July 16. According to Kotaku, which obtained the shareholder letter, Netflix says that AI is now fully integrated into many different projects and is used from the concept stage through pre-visualization, filming, and post-production. They also revealed that generative AI was mostly used in post-production across the 300 shows and movies using it in 2026. "We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods," Netflix said in the shareholder letter. "In some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology." Using The American Experiment as an example, Netflix added that using generative AI tools "enhanced crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots." It's not just the best streaming service's shows that are affected either, as AI is also working its way into the app itself, with Netflix explaining that it will use LLMs and AI to "improve title discovery" and "better understand member preferences." First they cancel all my favorite shows, now they're using AI Netflix has made a lot of poor decisions in recent months. Recently, my colleague Rowan Davies criticized the streamer for chasing YouTube content, saying he was worried they don't actually care about the future of their shows and movies. I'm inclined to agree, too, as the streaming service has a track record of cancelling its shows. Just recently, The Boroughs was canceled after one season, and it's not the first time they've abandoned shows early on. They have also used an AI-generated voice of the late actor Gene Wilder in a new reality show, which our editor at large, Lance Ulanoff, said was "too far". This, teamed with the most recent AI announcement, has filled me with despair, and I'm worried a lot of my favorite Netflix shows aren't getting the love they deserve. This decision will no doubt divide fans, but this is the kind of thing that's going to make me turn away from Netflix and prioritize other streaming services instead. It feels like Netflix is falling out of love with its shows, and I'm starting to do the same. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Netflix used AI to make 17 minutes of a documentary 'twice as fast and at half the cost' -- as streaming competition drives up content spending to $20 billion | Fortune

The American Experiment is a five-episode documentary that features Apocalypse Now actor Martin Sheen as the voice of George Washington along with a panoply of contemporary figures from U.S. politics including ex-vice presidents Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. It also included 17 minutes of AI-enhanced footage that was produced "twice as fast and at half the cost," said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Faster and less expensive could potentially become central to the way Netflix plans to spend what could be up to $20 billion this year on content creation, a line item number that has grown from $16.2 billion in 2024 to $17.1 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, investors appear to be losing patience with the streaming giant as some of the tide appears to be moving in the opposite direction, with revenue growth decelerating from 16% in the first quarter of 2026, to 13% this quarter, and 12% guided for Q3. After earnings results were released, the stock price fell as much as 9% after hours, despite posting results that were generally in line with expectations. Sarandos said generative AI could help creative teams -- particularly during the post-production process -- get more juice out of every squeeze. So far this year, Netflix said, its creative partners have used GenAI workflows in 300 of its titles, with the bulk of it in post-production. In some cases, productions would have had to scale back key shots and sequences in the absence of AI because they couldn't have afforded them or crews wouldn't have been able to pull them off on the timeline they had, he said. Post teams used AI to enhance crowd scenes, world building opening shots, and historical battle scenes, Netflix leaders told shareholders in an investor letter on Thursday. "By equipping creatives with these tools, we believe they are going to enhance their abilities and we are going to have better and more impact for every dollar we spend on our programming," said Sarandos. "So, content creation timelines can be shortened and quality can be enhanced." From there, the cost savings "will likely be reinvested into more content on the service which fuels high quality engagement, and that whole revenue-profit flywheel that's going to come from that," he added. Sarandos was careful to note that "AI will give creatives better tools to bring their visions to life," and said "movies are being made by people who make movies." However, Netflix has crossed swords with some of the creatives in its own Los Gatos, Calif.-based backyard. The use of AI and protections for film and TV workers played a feature role in the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes against the studios, including Netflix. Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who adapted Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for Netflix, said he'd "rather die" than use generative AI in October last year while promoting the film. Still, Netflix has forged ahead into bringing more AI into its creative quiver, acquiring actor Ben Affleck's film tech company InterPositive in March 2026 reportedly for up to $600 million, and consolidating its virtual effects and production operations under the Eyeline studio banner in 2025. Results from the InterPositive acquisition were still "early days," Sarandos said on Thursday's earnings call, but the cost savings from those investments may become more critical for Netflix. The company said it expects overall content spending to increase 10% this year, versus the 8% average over the past five years. The company's push into live programming is contributing to the increase, with live content expect to account for 5% of content spend this year. Netflix has faced heavy competition for eyeballs as a multitude of options have begun to press further into the on-demand content space. "Netflix isn't just competing with Disney or HBO," said Bob Lang, founder of Explosive Options, in an emailed statement. "It's competing with online gaming through Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. It's competing with TikTok, Facebook videos, YouTube Shorts, and everything people do on their phones." "People can multitask -- they can have Netflix playing in the background while scrolling on their phones -- but the content has to be compelling enough to command their full attention," Lang added. "That's the real challenge." During the second quarter, the streamer posted revenue of $12.6 billion, up 13% year-over-year, and operating margin of 33.4%. Netflix narrowed its full-year revenue forecast to $51 billion to $51.4 billion and reiterated its 31.5% operating margin target, which would mean operating income growth of more than 20% for 2026. In addition to, somewhat generally expected earnings results, Netflix also announced it would scale back its What We Watched engagement report from twice a year to annually starting in 2027. Netflix also made its largest quarterly buyback in history, repurchasing $4.7 billion in stock this quarter, getting a boost from the $2.8 billion breakup fee it collected from Paramount Skydance after its marriage pact with Warner Bros. Discovery dissolved in February.

A once wary Hollywood slowly warms to AI

New York (AFP) - Once wary of artificial intelligence, Hollywood is now striking up partnerships with AI start-ups and weaving the technology into productions more and more openly -- all while insisting the creative process itself will remain untouched. "Everybody is still wrapping their head around it," said Mike Mosallam, COO of production company Shadowbox Studios, in an interview with Variety as recently 2025. Rattled by the technology, Hollywood initially went on the defensive. Studios worried about their intellectual property being misused, and actors feared becoming little more than raw material for AI systems -- and made it a central plank of their strike action in 2023. Those who did experiment ran into the technology's early limitations -- six-fingered hands, mouths that didn't move right. But a floodgate opened in early March, when Netflix bought a small, little-known company -- fewer than 20 employees -- for a hefty $587 million. Co-founded in 2022 by producer, director and actor Ben Affleck, InterPositive is an AI platform designed to assist film and TV production. In early June, studio Lionsgate took a stake in Runway, one of the leading names in AI-generated video, and the two will now develop creative projects together. Days later, Google made a similar move, investing in independent studio A24. Recent ad campaigns and short films have shown that AI video -- even when it includes human characters -- has crossed a real threshold. As Runway put it in May: "In many cases, if the story is strong enough, the technology is now good enough to become invisible." According to Jamie Umpherson, Runway's chief creative officer, people are learning to use the tools better as the technology improves on a "scale that was unimaginable a couple of years ago." "There's more familiarity than there was even a year ago," he said, adding that this is freeing up creative teams to focus more on story and style. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos struck a similar note when presenting the company's results in mid-July: "We're making higher quality output more quickly and efficiently than we could have using traditional methods." He said GenAI workflows have now been used on roughly 300 Netflix titles, mostly in post-production, adding: "We're leveraging GenAI for really complicated shots and sequences." 'Hybrid' Still, the streaming giant seems to be focusing mainly on the edges of production -- from visualizing a concept early on to color-grading footage after filming wraps. Independent director and producer Jon Erwin insists the core of the craft isn't going anywhere. "Actors drive all the performances, and we use these tools to amplify the sets and the scope of the shows," he said. "But we preserve the core of the filmmaking process, which is the relationship between the actor, the director and the camera. These tools do not replace that." In April, his production company Wonder Project launched a joint venture called Innovative Dreams with Luma, a rival to Runway. Together they have developed a new process that lets actors be filmed naturally -- no green screen, no motion-capture suit -- and then surrounds them with a hyper-realistic AI-generated world. Erwin calls it "hybrid" or "nonlinear" filmmaking. The process is fast enough that the AI-generated backdrop can be added just minutes after a scene is shot, giving filmmakers an almost-instant preview -- and the chance to shoot additional takes right away if needed. The first feature film built on this approach, "Young Washington," has already grossed more than $40 million at the box office -- double its production budget -- starring Oscar winner Ben Kingsley alongside two Golden Globe winners. Technicians, actors and camera operators still have a place in this new ecosystem, though how many of them will be needed remains an open question. Actor Matt Damon voiced concern about this, referring to Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," shot across three continents: "I don't think people are going to be given the resources to shoot movies that way for much longer." So far, Hollywood's traditional powerhouses -- Paramount, Universal, Sony, Walt Disney and Warner Bros -- have officially stayed on the sidelines of the AI shift. But Tanya Porquez, CEO of Generated Group -- which has just launched a database of AI-generated video creations -- thinks that won't last. "Studios will have to get on board. Not because they necessarily want to, but I think it's just the wave."

HoorAI for Hollywood! How La La Land is trying to come to terms with a technology revolution

The debate/controversy around AI's role in Hollywood rages on. Late last year Disney signed a groundbreaking deal with OpenAI to throw open a large chunk of its IP to the tech firm, a move which critics argued would lead to brand damage as the world was flooded with AI slop based on the output from the House of Mouse. In the event that fear didn't come to pass because OpenAI pulled out of the deal when it decided abruptly to ditch its Sora video generator app. But Disney is still embroiled in a row with Google amid allegations of massive copyright infringement which resulted in a slew of cease-and-desist letters being fired off in December last year. Other cases will undoubtedly follow as AI and traditional creative industries try to find some form of equitable co-existence. Meanwhile Hollywood leaders are deeply divided over the good or bad potential of AI. Star Wars creator George Lucas got a lot of attention recently when he said that resistance to AI was futile: It's very much like sitting here saying, 'Well, I believe the horse and the buggy is really where it's at. These cars, they break down, they need gas, there's all kinds of problems with them and pretty soon they'll be making them into tanks, and then they'll be killing people. It's terrible.' There's nothing you can do about it. That's progress, it's the future. But Christopher Nolan, director of the current blockbuster The Odyssey, argues that younger cinema goers are not fans of AI in movies: They see it for what it is very quickly - and it's much easier for them to identify it, because it grew out of an online world they know really well. And while that doesn't mean that every aspect of the technology is useless or meaningless, in filmmaking it's hitting at exactly the wrong time. Being positive All that said, there have been some interesting Hollywood-centered developments around AI of late that suggest that a new world order could yet emerge from the current division. Back in March, Netflix acquired InterPositive, an AI start-up fronted by actor Ben Affleck, for the eye-watering sum of $587 million, not bad for a firm set up three years ago and only boasting 16 staff. Tellingly Affleck has positioned the AI firm as having a mission "to preserve what makes storytelling human". Of the deal to sell out to Netflix, he said: In 2022, I spent a lot of time observing the early rise of AI in production. As a filmmaker, I could see how these models came up short. For artists to apply these tools towards telling the stories we dedicate our lives to, they need to be purpose-built to represent and protect all the qualities that make a great story: the nuances of filmmaking, the predictable -- and unpredictable -- challenges of production environments, the distortion of a lens or the way light shape-shifts across a scene. But critically he adds: We also need to preserve what makes storytelling human, which is judgment. The kind that takes decades to build, experience to hone and that only people can have. I knew I had a responsibility to my peers and our industry, to protect the power of human creativity and the people behind it. In creating InterPositive, I sought to do just that. The tech firm team began filming a proprietary dataset on a controlled soundstage with all the familiarities of a full production. Affleck explained: I wanted to build a workflow that captures what happens on a set, with vocabulary that matched the language cinematographers and directors already spoke and included the kind of consistency and controls they would expect. Intensive research and development led to our first model, trained to understand visual logic and editorial consistency, while preserving cinematic rules under real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting. We also built in restraints to protect creative intent, so the tools are designed for responsible exploration while keeping creative decisions in the hands of artists -- and ensuring that the benefits of this technology flow directly back to the story they're trying to tell. The results of this foundational work were deliberately smaller datasets and models focused on filmmaking techniques -- rather than performances -- creating tools that artists can use, control and benefit from. The Netflix view For Netflix, co-CEO Ted Sarandos has overseen the streamer using more and more AI tech: We're broadly seeing that gen AI is starting to have an impact across hundreds of our productions. So important to note that we have other gen AI tools in addition to InterPositive. We're thrilled with all the speed they're bringing to market for us...Gen AI is scaling quickly across the entire creative process, from concept to pre-vis through post and delivery. We're making higher quality output more quickly and efficiently than we could have using traditional methods. As of this month, gen AI workflows now have been used in roughly 300 of Netflix's titles with the largest concentration right to date to be found in post-production. But there are other clear applications, not least on building out crowd scenes, says Sarandos: We're leveraging gen AI for really complicated shots and sequences, things like enhancing crowds or historical battle scenes, those kind of things. Keep in mind that in many of the cases, productions would have left out those key shots because they just wouldn't have been able to afford them, they wouldn't have been able to do them in the time frames that they're working on. So those sequences are saved by the availability and access to these gen AI tools. Whether that's an argument that will convince the thousands of out of-work actors and supporting artists currently waiting tables in Los Angeles is another matter... But Sarandos, formerly Netflix Chief Content Officer, is also keen to focus on the creative contribution that AI might bring: On the content side, we believe it takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that. AI will give creators better tools to bring their visions to life. Movies are being made by people who make movies. AI provides them with better tools to make them even better. So today, our talent leverages tools for things like set references and pre-vis and VFX and sequence prep and shot planning, which all makes the production itself so much more smooth and efficient and fast. And that's just the beginning. We're seeing it across the entire production life cycle and those use cases are scaling faster and faster. So our documentary series we just released called American Experiment, that series features 17 minutes of AI-enhanced footage. It enabled us to expand the scope of the series in ways that just wouldn't have been feasible before. And commercially: Those 17 minutes were produced twice as fast and at half the cost of previous options. By equipping creators with these tools, we believe they're going to enhance their abilities, and we are going to have better and more impact for every dollar we spend on our programming. Content creation time lines can be shortened and quality can be enhanced. The cost savings will likely be re-invested into more content on the service, which fuels high-quality engagement and that whole kind of revenue profit flywheel that's going to come from that. 'Likely' might be doing rather a lot of heavy-lifting there perhaps, but the point is made. Creativity Back to Disney and new CEO Josh D'Amarco is clearly undeterred by the OpenAI interruption when it comes to the corporation's overall attitude to AI: We look at advanced technologies, including AI, as a meaningful long-term opportunity for us at Disney. At the same time, we're committed to implementing AI in a way that keeps human creativity at the center of everything that we do and of course, respects creators and the tremendous value of our own intellectual property. And when we think about AI specifically, there's a lot of opportunity here. But creativity enablement has to be front-and-center, he argues: We want Disney to remain a leader in the use of technology to enhance creativity. This is just part of our legacy going all the way back to when Walt was pioneering synchronized sound in Steamboat Willie, and it moves all the way through to Pixar's advanced computer animation and then even recently in series like The Mandalorian on Disney+. When we do this right, it will be the place where I think the best talent works because they'll have access to the deepest catalog of beloved characters with opportunities to tell new stories and even the potential to innovate in content production using all the latest technology, including AI. My take From the invention of the moving image to the transition to digital, from motion capture to virtual production, technology has evolved alongside the artists who use it. A pragmatic assessment from Affleck, albeit one that is unlikely to received well universally among his peers in Hollywood. AI is a hugely emotive topic. Viewers of the recent final season of The Comeback saw Lisa Kudrick's Valerie Cherish become a pariah for taking part in a sitcom whose scripts were written by AI. It doesn't take a wild stretch of the imagination to see the reality here. It is to be hoped however that the attitude of the studio chief at NuNet in The Comeback isn't reflected throughout the industry. His view is that using AI to dis-intermediate creatives frees up his company to focus on high-art projects in which he admits AI has no part to play. Cherish's prime time sitcom on the other hand sits at the AI slop end of spectrum, and he has no problem with that: We're not looking for great here, we're looking for good enough so that people can just leave it on when they're doing whatever. Tellingly The Comeback ends with an on-screen note that: No AI was used in the writing of this series. The debate goes on. That's far from all, folks!

Netflix Brags About 300 Shows And Films Made Using AI Tools

The streaming company says it's mostly used in post-production on shows like The American Experiment As part of Netflix's second-quarter earnings report, the streamer announced that it was integrating generative AI into more of its productions, claiming that AI has been used in roughly 300 Netflix shows and movies in 2026 so far. On Thursday, Netflix shared a letter with its shareholders filled with information about how well the company was doing, how much money it was making, and so forth. It also dedicated a whole section of the letter to bragging about how Netflix is "increasingly" using AI tools in the production of shows and movies, like The American Experiment and Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri. The company seems super excited about how these genAI tools will let it produce more content faster and cheaper than ever before. Yay, more slop! "We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods," said Netflix in the shareholder letter. "In some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology." Netflix says that AI is now fully integrated into many different projects and is used from the concept stage, through pre-visualization, filming, and post-production. The company says genAI is mostly used in post-production across the 300 or so shows and movies using it in 2026. Netflix says that in shows like The American Experiment, genAI tools "enhanced crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots." It also claims that "in some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology." I'm not sure if it means this is because the shots were literally impossible without AI (doubtful) or because they would have cost too much and Netflix is in penny-pinching mode (believable). Either way, it's clear that Netflix is fully embracing AI to help it pump out more slop to keep subscribers paying more and more each month. AI is also working its way into the app itself, with Netflix explaining that it will use LLMs and AI to "improve title discovery" and "better understand member preferences." The company also claims AI will make search better, too. What can't AI do? Well, be a profitable technology that actually provides accurate and consistent results without destructive data centers powering it all, for one thing.

Netflix used Gen AI in making 300 titles this year - a steady stream of slop is sure to follow

Netflix used AI to generate crowd and battle scenes in titles this year. It's efforts to use the technology are ramping up at the expense of creatives. Netflix has admitted that it is already using generative AI an a large number of titles added to its library this year. The streaming giant says that around 300 titles have been made with help of artificial intelligence, mostly in post production but often in outright content generation. The admission comes in a letter to shareholders following the company's latest earnings briefing. The company says it has saved money and time with AI workflows, while admitting AI had a hand in creating scenes that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. The company mentioned three specific titles that benefitted Glory (India), Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri (Brazil), and The American Experiment (US) from AI-generated boosts to crowds, battle sequences and establishing shots. The company said: "Across the production lifecycle, from concept and pre-visualisation through post and delivery, GenAI utilisation by our creative partners is scaling quickly. In 2026, GenAI workflows have been used in roughly 300 of our titles, with the largest concentration of work in post-production. We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods. "In some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology. For example, utilised GenAI tools to create highly complex sequences (e.g., enhanced crowds, historical battle sequences, and world-building establishing shots)." I think I'd rather those shots be left out entirely, wouldn't you? The company did not mention how much it saved on paying professional humans to actually create this content either through CGI or the old fashioned way. However, the fact that this is "scaling quickly" will send shockwaves through the creative industries. Would anyone be surprised if Netflix began peddling entirely AI-generated content by the end of this decade? Back in May, job vacancies for a Netflix-owned startup called INKubator explained it would be "creating animated shorts and specials using experimental GenAI-native production pipelines." In the long-term, the tech will focus on "GenAI-enabled workflows, artist tooling, and scalable, secure multi-show environments." Eventually the studio says it will "aim to develop feature-quality content." Another listing says the company plans to "ensure that INK's technology investments accelerate creative ambition [...] as we ramp up activity and aim to expand into longer-form content." This will be the end result of your Netflix viewing data over the last decade or me. We'll be algorthming ourselves into a library comprised largely of slop before you can say Stranger Things AI: The New Batch - Season 12.

Netflix admits to using GenAI both in the app and on 300 movies and shows in 2026 alone

Netflix is using AI to "lower costs" and create bigger scenes that would otherwise have been left out If you have tuned into Netflix at any point this year, there's a good chance you may have watched content created with AI, as the streamer has admitted to using Gen AI on roughly 300 movies and shows this year alone. On Thursday, July 16, Netflix updated its shareholders on the company's performance. In the shareholder letter, which has since been obtained by Kotaku, the streamer admitted to using AI tools in the production of many projects from the concept stage, right through to filming and editing, in order to cut costs and produce content more quickly. "We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods," reads the letter, "In some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology." Netflix said that, for now, AI is mostly used in post-production and has been implemented "in roughly 300 of our titles" in 2026 alone. The streamer failed to list all of the projects made using AI, but did mention a couple of titles, including Glory, The American Experiment, and Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri. Executive-produced by Tom Hanks and directed by Brian Knappenberger, The American Experiment is a five-part docuseries that explores the founding of the US and American democracy. However, Netflix says the team used GenAI on the show to enhance "crowds, historical battle sequences, and world-building establishing shots." Netflix states that without AI, "productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences," which makes us wonder if the site's AI use really just comes down to budget. Aside from using it in shows and movies, Netflix also applies AI to the site itself to "improve title discovery" via search and the homepage, and "better understand member preferences," so the app can recommend content tailored to users. For more, check out our guides to the best Netflix movies and the best Netflix shows.

Netflix confirms around 300 of its titles have used GenAI

The largest concentration of work is said to be in post-production. Just in case you were wondering when AI would be included in our TV shows and movies properly, it seems we're already living in the GenAI age of media. Netflix has confirmed that around 300 of its titles have already made use of "GenAI workflows," with plans to leverage these tools further in order to create shows and films more quickly. This was revealed by Netflix itself as part of its Q2 shareholder letter. Towards the bottom of the document, there's a whole section dedicated to technology and AI. First, Netflix says it uses LLMs to help improve title discovery for users, with search being enhanced with a new voice search functionality, empowered by AI. Then, we hear how AI is being used outside of the app itself and in the production of Netflix's titles. "In 2026, GenAI workflows have been used in roughly 300 of our titles, with the largest concentration of work in post-production. We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods. In some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology," Netflix writes. GenAI is also being used in concept art, pre-visualisation, and battle scenes. Beyond using AI for production, advertising is also another key avenue for the technology for Netflix. "In Q2, we expanded our AI-powered tools across the full advertising lifecycle, from planning and creative production to campaign management, optimization, and reporting. We're also automating more of the workflow around how advertisers transact with us by extending programmatic access to Pause Ads and live inventory this summer," writes the streamer."

Netflix Q2FY26: AI powers 300+ titles, cloud gaming grows 11x

"Gen AI is scaling quickly across the entire creative process, from concept to pre-vis through post and delivery," according to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. AI featured prominently in Netflix's earnings call as executives outlined how the company is changing the way it produces content, expands into new entertainment formats and grows its gaming business. During the Q2 2026 earnings call, executives answered analysts' questions on the company's strategy, including the rollout of generative AI tools following its acquisition of InterPositive, the performance of its cloud gaming business, the evolution of its content offering, and experiments with free products and trials. AI to become a bigger part of content production: Sarandos said the company's acquisition of InterPositive was beginning to show results, but stressed that it formed only one part of Netflix's broader AI strategy alongside internal teams such as Eyeline and its animation lab. He said a growing number of productions were now deploying these technologies. According to him, creators have already used AI workflows across around 300 titles, particularly during post-production, and are increasingly using the technology for complex visual effects, including crowd enhancement and historical battle scenes. Sarandos also cited Netflix's documentary series 'American Experiment', which contains 17 minutes of AI-enhanced footage. He said those sequences were produced "twice as fast and at half the cost of previous options", allowing productions to include scenes that previously would have been unaffordable. However, Sarandos rejected the idea that AI would replace filmmakers. "It takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that. AI will give creators better tools to bring their visions to life. Movies are being made by people who make movies. AI provides them with better tools to make them even better." Looking ahead, he said any efficiencies generated by AI would support further investment. "The cost savings will likely be reinvested into more content on the service," he said. Netflix doubles down on cloud gaming: Gaming emerged as another major focus of the earnings call, with Gregory Peters, Co-CEO of Netflix, describing it as a "$150 billion" opportunity outside China and Russia. He said the company was beginning to see evidence that its cloud-first gaming strategy was working. According to Peters, "FIFA and Unhinged became our two most successful cloud game debuts," while monthly active players for cloud games have increased 11-fold since Netflix expanded the initiative last October. He added that adoption was progressing faster than it had for Netflix's earlier mobile gaming business, with stronger retention among users. Netflix also highlighted rapid growth in children's gaming. Peters said Netflix Playground, its dedicated children's games app, had recorded threefold growth in daily players, while engagement with children's mobile games had risen 600% year-on-year. Despite the progress, Peters said gaming remained a relatively small investment compared with Netflix's overall content budget. "We're just getting started here. We're scratching the surface in terms of what we think the total potential of the space offers for us," he said. He added that the company would continue refining its investments based on member engagement and business returns rather than expanding indiscriminately. Content strategy: * Ted Sarandos said the early performance of video podcasts and vertical video clips encouraged Netflix, adding, "This viewing is definitely incremental for us". He said podcasts were increasing daytime viewing and performing particularly well on mobile devices. * Sarandos said Netflix would expand its entertainment offering through partnerships with publishers including Condé Nast, Hearst and People, while continuing to build its catalogue of creators such as Jay Shetty, Martha Stewart and Bill Simmons. * Sarandos said the company's broader strategy remained gradual rather than disruptive. "These expansions are evolutionary, not revolutionary," he said, adding that Netflix would continue adding entertainment formats where it believed members would find value. Netflix is experimenting with free tiers: Peters said Netflix was continuing to evaluate whether a free streaming tier could work in some markets but stressed that the company had no immediate plans to launch one. "Free is something that we're going to continue to consider, but we have no near-term plans to launch something," he said, adding that any such product would need to avoid cannibalising paid subscriptions and would need a sufficiently mature advertising business to support it.

Some 300 Netflix projects have used AI, and nobody has noticed

While in video games players seem to be turning their backs on every title that decides to use AI, in the world of film and television it's vastly more complex, because they don't have to announce it... and the result has been catastrophic. So much so that Netflix has put its foot in it (well, its whole leg) by saying without the slightest embarrassment that as many as 300 projects last year used the technology in one way or another, generally to do things that used to be handled with CGI. Ouch. Welcome to TuDumAI Want examples? There are heaps of them. For example, in the Indian sports series Glory, the miniseries Brazil 70, or the docuseries based on the American Revolution, The American Experiment. AI apparently helped increase the number of extras and improve the battle sequences. They're pitching it as a way for productions to have every scene included at a knockdown price, but of course, without human involvement. "We're using these tools to deliver better-quality content faster and at lower cost than with traditional methods". Lower cost and faster? No doubt. Better quality? Netflix, we've all seen what LLMs are capable of. Give me a break. the company has gone all in on AI lately, whether in trifles like helping the website's algorithm or in monstrosities like opening an animation studio to create productions with AI, something Amazon Prime Video has also set up (and they got crucified for it). According to Ted Sarands, the 17 minutes of AI in The American Experiment have been very positive, but he doesn't believe it's going to replace creative professionals. For now, anyway. "We believe good artists make good things, and AI isn't going to change that. Movies are made by the people who make movies. AI gives them better tools to make them even better". The backlash is going to be simply spectacular.

Netflix used generative AI on 300 titles this year, and there's no rulebook

The latest Netflix shareholder letter casually throws out a number. About 300 movies and TV shows released on the platform this year were made using generative AI technology - mostly in the post-production process. The co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, puts this into the category of a cost and time-saving achievement - shots that would have been left out, now produced twice as quickly and at a much lower cost. This sounds like yet another standard studio productivity move. It's not. Also read: What is Kimi K3: Moonshot's frontier AI model that matches Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT 5.5 Last year, Netflix's application of generative AI technology was an experiment that took the form of a single sequence within the science fiction series The Eternaut. Today, its applications include crowd multiplication, reenactments of historical battles and world-building shots within movies and TV shows such as Glory (Indian production), Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri and The American Experiment documentary series, which has no less than 17 minutes of AI-generated content. This is not an incremental use of technology. This is an entire production pipeline rebuilt using new tools over the course of only a year by a company that boasts nearly one billion users and sets industry standards. At some point along the way, during all of this scale-up, Netflix went beyond a certain threshold that needs more examination than has occurred. Its latest unscripted series "Wonka's The Golden Ticket" features a voice synthesized by artificial intelligence based on an actor that died in 2016 and did not give any permission for his image or voice to be used in projects posthumously. It does not matter whom exactly was behind creating this voice or where the source audio came from and who approved it. What is much more important than the technology itself is silence around it. Voice cloning of a living actor at least creates the issue of consent and compensation that was recognized by unions. Also read: What Is Inkling: Thinking Machines Lab's bet on customisable AI This is actually the story that gets buried by Netflix's headline of 300 titles. The point isn't that Netflix uses generative AI; every big movie studio is on the way to this point. The point is that Netflix has gone from using AI to assist with its visual effects work, adding a few more extras to a crowd or expanding a battle sequence, to using AI to recreate performances, and there is no public framework for drawing the line between those two points. There is no disclosure mechanism to help moviegoers understand when an image has been generated rather than shot. There is no guidance about whether an actor's voice needs permission like a script needs rights. Sarandos has always been clear about the Netflix story: AI makes it possible for Netflix to do shots that it can't afford to do otherwise. This is a true story for production companies, but it completely avoids the harder question. Cost is why AI was used. It doesn't answer why there isn't a boundary drawn around where it should not have been used. Netflix is not breaking any laws here, and perhaps not even doing anything that won't become common among other streaming services over the next couple of years. This is precisely why Netflix should have never gotten away with it in the first place. After all, the one setting the standards for the norm here tends to be the first one to establish the standard, and what the current standard seems to be is simple: adopt it, and try to explain it if you manage to remember. And there are still three hundred movies out there without an explanation.