Prime Video Introduces AI-Powered Recaps for Original Shows

Amazon’s Prime Video is expanding its use of AI with a new feature called Video Recaps, which gives viewers quick, cinematic summaries of their favorite shows. According to the company, the feature is designed to help fans catch up before starting a new season.

Video Recaps combines AI-generated narration, clips from the show, dialogue, and music to summarize key plot points. Gérard Medioni, Prime Video’s VP of technology, described it as “a groundbreaking application of generative AI for streaming” and said it “demonstrates Prime Video’s ongoing commitment to innovation and making the viewing experience more accessible and enjoyable for customers.”

The feature is currently in beta for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., including Fallout, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Upload, Bosch, and The Rig.

At launch, Video Recaps are available on connected-TV devices, with support for more devices coming in the following months. Users can access recaps through a “Recap” button on the show’s detail page. They can choose between video or text recaps depending on their preference.

This new video option builds on Prime Video’s previous AI recap tool, X-Ray Recaps, which offered spoiler-free text summaries of key story points. X-Ray Recaps only covered episodes up to the point a viewer had watched to avoid revealing spoilers. Video Recaps, by contrast, provide a more immersive experience with sight, sound, and motion.

Amazon explains that creating each video recap involves several steps. Using AI, the system analyzes a season’s main plot points and character arcs to identify the most important moments. The AI then selects video clips, adds music and dialogue, and generates a voiceover narration to create a short, cinematic summary.

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