Netflix has confirmed around 300 of its programs have made use of generative AI technology so far in 2026, with many integrating it across their production pipelines.
As reported by Variety, the news was confirmed in Netflix’s investor-facing Q2 earnings report, which outlined use cases for generative AI, alongside notes on its USD $12.56 billion revenue, which is up 13.4% year-on-year.
Netflix confirms use of GenAI in its programs – quick links
How Netflix is currently using generative AI
Netflix is currently using generative AI tools across all stages of its program production processes, from concepts to pre-visualisation, to post-production and release.
Per the company, it’s helping to create ‘highly complex sequences’ including crowds of significant sizes, and some battle sequences. Programs including The American Experiment, Glory, and Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri were all specifically noted as utilising the technology to expand their scope, and to increase the speed of production.
‘We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher-quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods,’ the company said in its report. ‘In some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology.’
Fears about replacing creatives with generative AI
In an attempt to allay fears about generative AI – the possibility that it erases creative jobs, contributes to environment harms, and stifles creativity – Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos reportedly claimed the impact overall had been positive, and that generative AI was working alongside creatives, rather than replacing them.
Per Sarandos, the tools simply allow creatives ‘to bring their visions to life’ and may expand the scope of projects that wouldn’t otherwise be possible, ‘twice as fast and at half the cost of previous options.’
Given that wording, it would be easy to point out the original cost would come with the benefit of creating jobs and feeding back into the global economy. Per Sarandos, generative AI has not replaced artists and creatives at all, and Netflix is not looking to erase their contributions with this technology.
‘We believe it takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that,’ Sarandos said. ‘Movies are being made by people who make movies. AI provides them with better tools to make them even better.’
As Variety points out, Sarandos has previously been vocal about AI being an add-on tool for creatives, as a new tool of production. While ‘faster and cheaper’ remains the bar for success – despite little interrogation about how ‘cheaper’ is achieved – Sarandos has also said a quality bar remains.
The use of generative AI only matters when it genuinely ‘betters’ the product, per the executive.
A commitment to generative AI
Given Netflix’s recent enthusiasm about AI, it’s likely the technology is now cemented in the company’s future production processes. Beyond encouraging its use in an array of programs, the streamer has also directly invested in the technology’s growth, recently acquiring Ben Affleck’s InterPositive, a company aiming to help filmmakers create more efficiently with AI tools.
Investors are increasingly looking to the technology for their next returns, with the market being particularly responsive to companies which announce their own AI forays. The reality is that major companies like Netflix are beholden to the whims of these investors, with much of their capital derived from this nebulous group and their interests.
Regardless of any perceived detriment to the creative side of film and TV production, and regardless of any public backlash about generative AI and its harms, it appears Netflix is all-in on the technology and how it may change filmmaking in future.
