AI Usage at a Glance
Sep 1, 2017
RecommendationPractice documented: Netflix deployed an AI system that selects and displays different thumbnail images for the same movie or TV show to different subscribers, choosing the image most likely to attract each individual viewer based on their viewing history and inferred preferences.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Jul 1, 2019
RecommendationNew evidence: Netflix's Tony Jebara on How to Use AI to Personalize the Customer Experience
Evidence AddedView practice →May 1, 2020
ProductivityPractice documented: Netflix uses AI, including automatic speech recognition and neural machine translation, to assist with generating and localizing subtitles for its content across dozens of languages, with human linguists reviewing the outputs.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Nov 8, 2020
RecommendationNew evidence: The Secret Behind Netflix's Personalized Thumbnails
Evidence AddedView practice →Nov 1, 2023
OtherPractice documented: Netflix uses machine learning algorithms to optimize how each video in its catalog is encoded for streaming, analyzing each title frame by frame to determine the ideal video quality settings that minimize file size while preserving visual quality for every subscriber's device and network conditions.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Jan 1, 2024
RecommendationPractice documented: Netflix deployed a machine learning recommendation system that personalizes the content each subscriber sees on their homepage, selecting which titles to surface and in what order based on that person's viewing history, search behavior, and patterns from similar users.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Mar 19, 2025
Data AnalysisPractice documented: Netflix uses predictive analytics and machine learning to inform internal decisions about which original series and films to greenlight, license, or renew, by analyzing viewer behavior data to forecast a project's likely success.
Practice DocumentedView practice →May 7, 2025
RecommendationPractice documented: Netflix integrated an OpenAI ChatGPT-powered search feature into its mobile app that allows subscribers to find content using natural, conversational language instead of keyword searches.
Practice DocumentedView practice →May 14, 2025
Creative GenPractice documented: Netflix announced plans to deploy generative AI-powered advertising formats on its ad-supported plan, including midroll and pause ads whose creative content is customized using AI to match the visual style and context of the show a subscriber is watching.
Practice DocumentedView practice →May 18, 2025
Creative GenNew evidence: Netflix has figured out a way to make ads even worse using AI
Evidence AddedView practice →Jun 14, 2025
RecommendationNew evidence: How Netflix Uses Machine Learning (ML) to Create Perfect Recommendations
Evidence AddedView practice →Aug 1, 2025
Creative GenPractice documented: Netflix deployed generative AI tools in the production of some of its original series and films, using AI to generate or enhance visual effects scenes that would have been prohibitively expensive using traditional methods.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Oct 21, 2025
Creative GenNew evidence: Netflix Goes All-In on AI While Hollywood Stays Divided
Evidence AddedView practice →Jan 21, 2026
ProductivityNew evidence: Netflix Now Using AI for Custom Ads and Subtitle Localization
Evidence AddedView practice →Jan 21, 2026
Creative GenNew evidence: Netflix Now Using AI for Custom Ads and Subtitle Localization
Evidence AddedView practice →Mar 5, 2026
Creative GenPractice documented: Netflix acquired InterPositive, an AI filmmaking tools startup founded by Ben Affleck, in March 2026 to bring AI-powered post-production capabilities — including automated color grading, relighting, and continuity fixes — in-house for use by its creative partners.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Mar 6, 2026
Creative GenNew evidence: Netflix buys Ben Affleck's InterPositive AI startup
Evidence AddedView practice →Apr 20, 2026
Creative GenNew evidence: Netflix's AI deal puts the global VFX workforce at risk
Evidence AddedView practice →Apr 20, 2026
Creative GenNew evidence: Netflix releases guidelines for using generative AI in productions
Evidence AddedView practice →Netflix uses predictive analytics and machine learning to inform internal decisions about which original series and films to greenlight, license, or renew, by analyzing viewer behavior data to forecast a project's likely success.
Netflix's data science teams analyze historical viewing patterns, genre trends, audience demand by region, and metadata from past productions to generate data-informed projections for new content investments. The company has publicly stated that this analysis — including the famous example of greenlighting 'House of Cards' based on data about viewer affinities for political dramas, Kevin Spacey, and David Fincher — is used to inform but not replace human executive judgment. Netflix's data analytics group confirmed in published sources that the company uses a projection model to assess whether a proposed project fits 'certain parameters' based on similar programs' past performance.
Netflix integrated an OpenAI ChatGPT-powered search feature into its mobile app that allows subscribers to find content using natural, conversational language instead of keyword searches.
Netflix deployed a machine learning recommendation system that personalizes the content each subscriber sees on their homepage, selecting which titles to surface and in what order based on that person's viewing history, search behavior, and patterns from similar users.
Netflix deployed an AI system that selects and displays different thumbnail images for the same movie or TV show to different subscribers, choosing the image most likely to attract each individual viewer based on their viewing history and inferred preferences.
Netflix deployed generative AI tools in the production of some of its original series and films, using AI to generate or enhance visual effects scenes that would have been prohibitively expensive using traditional methods.
Netflix announced plans to deploy generative AI-powered advertising formats on its ad-supported plan, including midroll and pause ads whose creative content is customized using AI to match the visual style and context of the show a subscriber is watching.
Netflix acquired InterPositive, an AI filmmaking tools startup founded by Ben Affleck, in March 2026 to bring AI-powered post-production capabilities — including automated color grading, relighting, and continuity fixes — in-house for use by its creative partners.
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Netflix integrated an OpenAI ChatGPT-powered search feature into its mobile app that allows subscribers to find content using natural, conversational language instead of keyword searches.
Launched as an opt-in beta for iOS users in May 2025, the feature was initially piloted with users in Australia and New Zealand before broader rollout. Users can enter requests such as 'I want something funny and upbeat' or 'something scary but not too scary,' and the system returns relevant title suggestions. Netflix announced the feature at a May 2025 product event alongside a homepage redesign, describing the search as responding to viewers' 'moods and interests in the moment.' Netflix's Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone confirmed that the AI search tools accommodate more conversational inquiry styles.
Netflix deployed generative AI tools in the production of some of its original series and films, using AI to generate or enhance visual effects scenes that would have been prohibitively expensive using traditional methods.
Netflix confirmed its first on-screen use of generative AI in the Argentine sci-fi series 'The Eternaut,' where AI generated a building collapse sequence. The filmmakers behind 'Happy Gilmore 2' also used AI to de-age characters in the opening sequence. Netflix's publicly available production guidance, published on its Partner Help Center, formally acknowledges that generative AI tools — capable of producing video, images, audio, and text — are 'increasingly being used across creative workflows in Content Production.' The guidance stipulates that AI-generated content must not replace union-covered work without consent and that key creative elements require written approval from Netflix.
