About 300 Netflix programs across the streamer’s library have used generative AI throughout their production process so far this year, the company announced Thursday in its second-quarter earnings report.
Netflix told shareholders in a letter that its use of the technology extends to all levels of a program’s production process, from concept and pre-visualization to post-production and release. The company praised programs such as its Indian sports thriller series “Glory,” its Brazilian soccer miniseries “Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri” and its American Revolution-focused docuseries “The American Experiment” for their use of the technology, which Netflix said helped create “highly complex sequences” that included larger crowds and fight sequences.
“We are increasingly using these tools to deliver higher quality results, faster and at a lower cost than traditional methods,” the company said. “In some cases, productions without GenAI technology would have had to omit important shots and sequences.”
The announcement came as Netflix’s second-quarter revenue reached $12.56 billion, up 13.4% year over year, with net income of $3.4 billion (equivalent to 80 cents per share). Wall Street analysts on average expected $12.59 billion and per-share earnings of 79 cents, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
The streaming giant has been vocal about adopting AI in various areas of its business, including helping users find new titles, boosting its advertising business and building an AI animation studio. Netflix also acquired Ben Affleck-founded InterPositive in March, which it said would help provide filmmakers with AI tools to use in film and television productions.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the company’s earnings call Thursday that while the InterPositive deal is still in the “early days,” the company has already seen an impact on productions, along with some of its other internal tools.
AI tools give “creators better tools to bring their visions to life,” Sarandos added, pointing to 17 minutes of AI-enhanced footage in “The American Experiment,” which he claimed “expanded the scope of the series that simply wouldn’t have been possible before” and was produced “twice as quickly and at half the price of previous options.”
However, Sarandos said Netflix doesn’t want to use AI as a replacement for creative professionals.
“We believe it takes great artists to create something great, and AI doesn’t change that,” he said. “Movies are made by people who make movies. AI gives them better tools to make them even better.”
The remarks echoed Sarandos’ comments to Politico in March, in which he said AI “should be a creative tool,” similar to other production tools that have evolved over time, and that it could offer creators the ability to do things that were impossible before the advent of the technology.
However, he said AI can only make things “faster and cheaper” if a high level of quality is maintained. “I don’t think faster and cheaper is important if it’s not better,” he told the outlet.
“I think that AI, especially InterPositive, the company we bought from Ben [Affleck]will help the makers to make things better,” he added. “They use their own dailies and use their own production materials to make the film they make better.” You still need writers, actors, lighting technicians and all the things you need to make a movie, but you have to be able to make the movie more effective and efficient.”
https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/about-300-netflix-programs-used-ai-this-year-q2-earnings-1236812914/
