AI Usage at a Glance
Apr 12, 2023
RecommendationPractice documented: Warner Bros. Discovery uses machine learning to personalize the content each subscriber sees on Max, surfacing shows and movies based on individual viewing history, regional engagement trends, and other signals. A machine learning ranking model scores content candidates and dynamically assigns them to spots on the streaming interface, with editors retaining the option to override.
Practice DocumentedView practice →May 9, 2024
Data AnalysisPractice documented: Warner Bros. Discovery uses AI to identify and optimize ad break placement within HBO content on Max, which historically lacked natural commercial breaks. CEO David Zaslav confirmed this practice publicly in May 2024.
Practice DocumentedView practice →May 9, 2024
RecommendationNew evidence: CEO David Zaslav On How Warner Bros. Discovery Is Using AI
Evidence AddedView practice →May 15, 2024
OtherPractice documented: Warner Bros. Discovery integrated KERV's AI technology into its Max ad platform in November 2024, launching two ad products: 'Shop with Max,' which identifies objects in on-screen content and pairs them with advertiser products via QR code, and 'Moments,' which uses audio and visual analysis to match ads to thematically relevant content segments.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Sep 24, 2024
ProductivityPractice documented: Warner Bros. Discovery deployed an AI captioning tool called 'Caption AI,' built on Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, to automatically generate closed captions for content on its Max streaming service, starting with unscripted programming in the United States in September 2024. Human reviewers remain in the loop for quality assurance.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Nov 21, 2024
OtherNew evidence: Warner Bros. Discovery Advertising Sales Introduces New Ad Solutions: Shop with Max and Moments, Bringing Shoppable Entertainment to Streaming
Evidence AddedView practice →Dec 2, 2024
OtherNew evidence: Warner Bros. Discovery Taps A.I. to Create 'Shoppable' Ads for Max
Evidence AddedView practice →Apr 4, 2025
ProductivityPractice documented: WBD Sports Europe deployed Cycling Central Intelligence (CCI), a generative AI platform built with Amazon Web Services, to help commentators and production teams instantly access rider profiles, race histories, and performance statistics during live UCI Mountain Bike World Series events. The platform launched in April 2025.
Practice DocumentedView practice →Apr 5, 2025
ProductivityNew evidence: Warner Bros. Discovery Launches Generative AI-Powered Cycling Central Intelligence Platform
Evidence AddedView practice →Aug 1, 2025
RecommendationNew evidence: Engineering the Future of Streaming: How HBO Max Is Reinventing Merchandising with Automation, Vision, and Scale
Evidence AddedView practice →Sep 5, 2025
OtherNew evidence: How Warner Bros. Discovery Ensures That Shoppable Ads Fit In Its Shows
Evidence AddedView practice →Oct 29, 2025
ProductivityNew evidence: Transforming sports storytelling with generative AI on AWS
Evidence AddedView practice →WBD Sports Europe deployed Cycling Central Intelligence (CCI), a generative AI platform built with Amazon Web Services, to help commentators and production teams instantly access rider profiles, race histories, and performance statistics during live UCI Mountain Bike World Series events. The platform launched in April 2025.
CCI is built on Amazon Bedrock and Anthropic's Claude 3.5, using a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflow to create a unified knowledge base from hundreds of documents and large statistical databases covering rider profiles, race times, and event histories. Commentators query it using natural language during live broadcasts. The system also uses Amazon Textract for document processing, Amazon Translate for multilingual content, and Amazon Comprehend for information organization. Prior to CCI, commentators spent hours researching across multiple sources before and during races, a manual process AWS explicitly confirmed.
WBD Sports Europe deployed Cycling Central Intelligence (CCI), a generative AI platform built with Amazon Web Services, to help commentators and production teams instantly access rider profiles, race histories, and performance statistics during live UCI Mountain Bike World Series events. The platform launched in April 2025.
Warner Bros. Discovery deployed an AI captioning tool called 'Caption AI,' built on Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, to automatically generate closed captions for content on its Max streaming service, starting with unscripted programming in the United States in September 2024. Human reviewers remain in the loop for quality assurance.
Have evidence about Warner Bros. Discovery's AI practices? Submit a report.
Submit a report →AI Trace is free and nonprofit. Support our work
Warner Bros. Discovery uses AI to identify and optimize ad break placement within HBO content on Max, which historically lacked natural commercial breaks. CEO David Zaslav confirmed this practice publicly in May 2024.
Zaslav stated in WBD's Q1 2024 earnings call that AI is used to identify and optimize ad break opportunities in HBO content, which does not have natural ad breaks built in. This enables the company to insert ads into its premium ad-light tier content. The specific AI system or vendor used was not publicly disclosed.
Warner Bros. Discovery integrated KERV's AI technology into its Max ad platform in November 2024, launching two ad products: 'Shop with Max,' which identifies objects in on-screen content and pairs them with advertiser products via QR code, and 'Moments,' which uses audio and visual analysis to match ads to thematically relevant content segments.
Shop with Max uses machine learning-based image recognition to analyze Max content, detect on-screen items (such as furniture or clothing), and serve mid-roll ads featuring related products from advertiser catalogs with a QR code linking to a purchase page. Moments uses AI to scan audio and visual cues to categorize content into one of 40 consumer interest themes (e.g., cooking, gaming, real estate) and match advertisers to contextually appropriate moments. WBD supplied KERV with over 20,000 hours of content for matching against live advertiser product catalogs. Both products launched with Wayfair as the first retail partner.
