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Jeff Bezos Pushes for AI Overhaul of Amazon Prime Video - MIT Sloan Management Review Middle East Jeff Bezos Pushes for AI Overhaul of Amazon Prime Video - MIT Sloan Management Review Middle East

Jeff Bezos Pushes for AI Overhaul of Amazon Prime Video

An internal project, codenamed Lighthouse, will redesign the platform's home page and introduce AI-powered recommendations tailored to viewers' preferences.

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  • [Image: Nomita Samaiyar/MITSMR Middle East]

    Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is pushing to make artificial intelligence central to Prime Video, urging executives to accelerate the streaming platform’s AI strategy years after stepping down as the company’s CEO.

    According to people familiar with the matter, Bezos has asked Prime Video head Mike Hopkins to overhaul the platform with AI at the center of its user experience. The push followed an internal presentation last year that left Bezos dissatisfied, with sources saying he felt the plans did not sufficiently showcase Prime Video’s AI and personalization capabilities.

    According to Reuters, the meeting led executives to abandon their existing roadmap in favor of a new initiative, internally codenamed “Lighthouse.”

    The project aims to improve content discovery through AI-powered recommendations based on user preferences, with redesigning the Prime Video home page a key priority. Among the features under consideration are AI-generated content categories with pre-populated suggestions such as “action movies from the 1980s” or “Christmas rom-coms,” alongside the platform’s existing search function.

    Amazon is also evaluating integrating its AI assistant Alexa into Prime Video’s search experience. The company launched a generative AI-powered version of Alexa earlier this year and integrated it into its core shopping platform in May 2026.

    Kam Keshmiri, Prime Video’s global head of design, is leading the Lighthouse program.

    With more than 200 million active users worldwide, Prime Video is one of the largest streaming services, competing closely with Netflix in major markets including the United States and India. The platform became the first streaming service to win an Academy Award in a major category and expanded its entertainment business through the $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM in 2022, later consolidating its studios under Amazon MGM Studios.

    The AI overhaul comes as Amazon continues to expand Prime Video’s role within its broader ecosystem, despite facing regulatory scrutiny over changes to its advertising model and its introduction of additional charges for ad-free viewing. The company is also working to position Prime Video as a central hub where customers manage multiple streaming subscriptions.

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