Prime Video already offers AI-generated text summaries of TV shows. Amazon is now using AI to add sight, sound, and movement.
The company will launch Video Recaps on Prime Video on Wednesday. Amazon says it will provide “comprehensive season summaries” that keep viewers up to date on select shows. The video summarization feature uses AI to summarize a show’s key plot points in “theatre-quality video” that includes synchronized audio narration, snippets of dialogue, and music.
The feature is currently available in beta on select English-language Prime original series in the U.S., including “Fallout,” “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” “Upload,” “Bosch” and “The Rig.” Prime Video customers will initially be able to access Video Recaps on their connected TV devices, but additional devices supporting this feature will be rolled out in the coming months.
A year ago, Prime Video released X-Ray Recaps, an AI-powered feature that creates “spoiler-free” text summaries of major cliffhangers, character-driven plot points, and other important details. X-Ray summaries only summarize up to the point where viewers last watched the series and are designed to avoid learning spoiler plot points.
“Video Recaps is a breakthrough application of generative AI for streaming,” Gerard Medioni, vice president of technology at Prime Video, said in a statement. “This first-of-its-kind feature demonstrates Prime Video’s continued commitment to innovation and making the viewing experience more accessible and enjoyable for our customers.”
Prime Video video summaries are available for supported series through the “Recap” button on a show’s details page when customers move to the next season. Once selected, you will see available summaries for that title, either video-based or text-based, from which you can select your preferred summarization option.
According to Amazon, creating a summary for each video is a multi-step process. Using generative AI, the video summarization feature analyzes the season’s key plot points and character arcs to “deeply understand the most important moments that will resonate with viewers entering the next season,” according to the company. AI then finds the most engaging video clips and combines them with audio effects, dialogue, and music. These are stitched together with AI-generated narration.
