Amazon using AI to fix its broken Prime Video algorithm

Summary

Amazon Prime Video is adding AI Topics for personalized content recommendations.
The AI model was built using LLMs and Amazon Bedrock, and organizes recommendations into specific topics based on your viewing history.
AI Topics will roll out in the U.S. in the coming weeks with topics like “fantasy quests.”

Have you ever just endlessly scrolled through a streaming service attempting to find something to watch? With so many shows and movies at our fingertips nowadays, choosing something can be difficult. To tackle this, Prime Video is taking advantage of new AI technology.

Amazon has announced it is testing a new feature on Prime Video called “AI Topics.” The feature’s primary goal is to make it easier to find something to watch by recommending content groups formulated with AI rather than a traditional machine learning algorithm. The recommendations will be based on your interests and viewing history, with topics like “mind-bending sci-fi” or “fantasy quests.”

“We’re excited to take personalization a step further by testing a new way to recommend titles to customers with AI Topics,” said Adam Gray, VP of product at Prime Video, in a press release. “With the help of AI, we’re able to analyze thousands of shows and movies across Prime Video’s vast library of premium content and group those titles into relevant topics for customers.”

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Amazon Prime Video

Simultaneous streams: 3
# of profiles: 6
Originals: Yes
Live TV: Limited (some add-on channels offer live TV)
Price: $8.99 per month by itself or $14.99 per month as a part of Prime
Free trial: 30 days (to Amazon Prime)
Ad plans: No

This brand new streaming service has over 70 live channels and is 100% free

DirecTV is coming for Tubi and PlutoTV by launching MyFree DirecTV, a free service offering more than 70 FAST channels.

How to find and test out AI Topics

It’s currently in a limited release beta

Amazon

To find AI Topics on Prime Video, head to the home page and scroll down until you see it. The feature is currently in a limited beta release, so you might not see it yet. Amazon says it will begin rolling out the feature on devices in the U.S. “in the coming weeks.”

Amazon has built AI Topics using large language models (LLMs) and Amazon Bedrock, a service it uses to build generative AI applications. The AI model looks at what you’ve watched and organizes its recommendations into topics tailored to your interests. It will also recommend topics similar to the ones most related to your viewing habits to help you discover even more shows and movies.

With this announcement, Amazon is taking a new approach to content recommendations. Most streaming services like Disney+ or Netflix use a machine learning algorithm to recommend content based on your viewing history and interests. Whether Amazon’s new AI Topics feature will work any better is to be determined. This isn’t Prime Video’s first use of AI technology. Earlier this year, it announced a new feature called X-Ray recaps, which uses AI technology to summarize a TV show to help you remember where you left off when you last watched.