Amazon.com IncAmazon's Prime Video overhaul with AI features showcases its AI investment and could drive subscriber engagement.

Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos is planning an overhaul of the Prime Video streaming service that puts artificial intelligence features front and center, according to four people familiar with the matter. The project, known internally as Lighthouse, is positioned as a core initiative to showcase the results of the hundreds of billions of dollars Amazon has invested in AI. Bezos has demanded a comprehensive revamp with AI at the forefront from Mike Hopkins, the head of Prime Video. When an update plan was presented last fall, Bezos expressed dissatisfaction with the insufficient AI and personalization, prompting executives to scrap the plan and launch Lighthouse. New features will include AI-powered improvements to movie and TV show recommendations, capabilities that learn consumer preferences, and voice request responses, along with a redesigned homepage. Testing of the redesigned version is already underway with some users. It is unusual for Bezos, who has kept his distance from day-to-day operations since stepping down as CEO in 2021, to be personally involved and receive progress reports. Amazon plans to invest about 200 billion dollars this year, primarily in AI-related capital expenditures. In addition to an initial investment of 23 billion dollars in OpenAI, the developer of the conversational AI ChatGPT, and Anthropic, additional investment could reach over 40 billion dollars.
Amazon.com IncAmazon's Prime Video overhaul with AI features showcases its AI investment and could drive subscriber engagement.
Amazon's investment in OpenAI is mentioned as part of its AI spending, but no direct impact on OpenAI's operations or valuation is discussed.