Netflix now uses AI in about 300 productions, mostly in post-production. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos shared the numbers during the company's latest earnings call. AI speeds up the entire pipeline, he said, from concept development and previsualization through delivery. Specific use cases include expanding crowd scenes and historical battle sequences that would have been cut for budget or time reasons without the technology.
The docuseries "The American Experiment" includes 17 minutes of AI-assisted footage, produced twice as fast at half the cost, according to Sarandos. The savings "likely" go toward more content, not shrinking Netflix's $20 billion budget. "[…] it takes great artists to make something great, and AI is not changing that. AI will give creatives better tools to bring their visions to life" Sarandos said. Beyond its Interpositive tool, Netflix also uses Eyeline and runs its own animation lab.
Netflix's rollout shows how fast AI is spreading through entertainment, even as creative pushback continues. ByteDance's video model Seedance has drawn official criticism too, but Simpsons producer Joel Kuwahara says many studios quietly use it behind the scenes. The industry's attitude, Kuwahara says, follows a "don't ask, don't tell" approach.