Netflix Used Generative AI in ~300 Programs This Year

Netflix announced Thursday in its second-quarter earnings report that approximately 300 programs across its library used generative AI during production this year, with the technology applied across every phase from concept and pre-visualization through post-production and release. The company cited three specific examples: the Indian sports thriller series "Glory," the Brazilian soccer miniseries "Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri," and the American Revolution-focused docuseries "The American Experiment." Netflix stated that AI helped these productions create "highly complex sequences" featuring enhanced crowd sizes and battle sequences—work the company said would have been otherwise unfeasible or cut from the final product.

In its letter to shareholders, Netflix emphasized that generative AI enables the company to "deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods." The company noted that "in some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology." This framing positions AI not as a cost-cutting measure alone but as a tool that expands creative possibility.

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos addressed the topic during Thursday's earnings call, emphasizing that while the March acquisition of InterPositive—Ben Affleck's production company—remains in "early days," the company has witnessed its impact on productions. Sarandos stated that AI tools give "creatives better tools to bring their visions to life," but he explicitly distanced Netflix from any suggestion of producing AI-generated work, saying "We believe it takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that." He added: "Movies are being made by people who make movies. AI provides them with better tools to make them even better." These remarks aligned with Sarandos' March comments to Politico, where he characterized AI as "a creator tool" similar to other technologies that have evolved in filmmaking, and cautioned that "I don't think faster and cheaper matters if it's not better."

Netflix's disclosure of roughly 300 programs using generative AI this year marks a significant scale of adoption across its production ecosystem. The company acquired InterPositive in March specifically to expand filmmaker access to AI tooling, signaling its strategic commitment to embedding AI throughout content creation. Netflix's framing positions AI not as a replacement for human creativity but as a productivity multiplier—allowing productions to include sequences that budget or time constraints might otherwise have forced them to cut, while maintaining emphasis on quality and artistic vision.

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has consistently maintained this narrative: that AI should serve as a creator tool comparable to other technologies that have evolved over time in filmmaking. His remarks on the earnings call Thursday echoed his March statements to Politico, where he stressed that faster and cheaper execution only matters if quality improves. The examples Netflix highlighted—complex battle and crowd sequences in sports thrillers and documentaries—suggest the company is using AI primarily for labor-intensive visual tasks rather than for writing or performance, a distinction that may matter to industry stakeholders watching how streaming platforms navigate creator concerns.

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