Jeff Bezos pushes Prime Video redesign focused on artificial intelligence

Jeff Bezos has identified a new, high-profile platform to help showcase the hundreds of billions  of dollars Amazon has bet on artificial intelligence (AI): Prime Video. The Amazon founder and executive chairman pushed Prime Video head Mike Hopkins to overhaul the streaming service so that AI is front and centre, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter. 

The resulting project, known internally as Lighthouse, would shine ??a light on Amazon’s AI capabilities for the more than 200 million consumers who use Prime Video. Lighthouse is viewed as one critical piece in Amazon’s companywide efforts to elevate the company’s stature in AI, as competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic speed ahead, the people said. Other AI initiatives, such as the multiyear overhaul of its Alexa voice assistant to provide more conversational responses, have had mixed results and the unit is still losing money, people familiar with the matter have previously told Reuters. Amazon declined to comment. 

The Prime Video initiative grew out of an internal presentation the streaming service’s executives made to Bezos last autumn that turned contentious, according to these people. 

Bezos was displeased  that Hopkins’ plans to update Prime Video failed to sufficiently highlight the service’s capabilities in AI and personalisation, according to the people. Bezos’ response prompted the Prime Video executives to scrap their previous plans and embark on Lighthouse. The  company has committed some $200 billion to capital expenditures this year, related primarily to developing AI, and invested an initial $23 billion in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and Anthropic combined, with the potential for upwards of another $40 billion. 

Lighthouse entails a broad swath of new features that use AI to improve film and TV recommendations, in part by learning consumers' preferences, and responding to spoken requests, according to one person with knowledge of the project who spoke on condition of anonymity. Prime Video is working on redesigning the main home page as part of the project, the other people said. 

The final redesign has not yet been settled, but one option Prime Video executives discussed includes AI-driven tiles, with pre-populated viewing suggestions like “action movies from the 1980s”  or “Christmas rom-coms,” three of the people said. Another source said a current version does not include text-heavy tiles. The traditional search function would remain, as well as space at the top of the screen for video highlights promoting new releases or sporting events, such as “Thursday Night Football,” the weekly National Football League game that is exclusive to Amazon. 

Amazon is already testing versions of the redesign with a few users, said one of the people. Prime Video’s plans, the people  said, could change due to feedback from early testers, or financial or other concerns. 

Prime Video, like other streaming services, relies on paid placement by studios, as well as software algorithms, to dictate where content is displayed on the home screen, said Michael Goodman, director of entertainment research for Parks Associates.  “The real estate on the home screen is very valuable to studios, so it would be a big change to take away any of that coveted space,” said Goodman. 

Bezos has been personally involved in the Prime Video overhaul, the  people said, including receiving occasional updates. His involvement is unusual since he stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021.