- Prime Video launches new “Video Recap” feature in beta for select shows
- The new generative AI feature is based on Amazon’s Bedrock model for stitching together scenes from shows.
- The test marks yet another AI-powered feature for Prime Video, but it’s only launching in the US for now.
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We’ve already seen some of the best streaming services integrate AI-based features into how they recommend content, and even in writing descriptions for shows, movies, and documentaries.
However, Prime Video now aims to use AI to help us catch up between seasons – at least in the US – to curate original content as part of a beta trial now rolling out. In 2024, Amazon first ventured into AI-generated content with compact, spoiler-free descriptions of shows’ plot points; now, however, it will use AI to create a “video recap” to help bridge the gap between seasons.
Essentially, when you click “Video Recap” on an eligible show’s page, it will present a roughly three-minute recap of the show. In the background, before your request, the AI will get to work, analyzing the series, identifying major plot points, and getting a sense of the main characters’ arcs. The AI then gathers the best video clips from the season and stitches them together with AI-generated voiceover narration that plays over what will likely be a few-minute recap.
This is no easy task, as it basically involves gathering the main plot points and combining them into a quick video featuring custom voice narration over the show’s visuals – including dialogue – and adding music. However, these are pre-generated and Amazon uses a combination of templates available on its own Amazon Bedrock, which resides on AWS or Amazon Web Services.
After the recap, which should get you up to speed, you can move straight to regular programming. Prime Video announces the deployment of “Video Recap” in beta version in the United States for certain original English-language series. Currently this list includes Jack Ryan by Tom Clancy, Fallout, The Rig, Bosch, And Download.
It’s also only deployed to living room devices – think a Fire TV or streaming player connected to a TV. The release did not specify whether additional devices, such as web or apps for iOS or Android, will be supported in the coming months. All eligible users in the United States should see “Video Recaps” by next week, November 24, 2025.
Since this is currently a limited beta in the US, we asked Amazon if it would roll out to the UK, Australia, and other international territories, either as a beta or full version. Amazon says that at launch, “Video Recaps” will only be available in the United States.
And while you’ll have to navigate to watch the video recap, this is all pre-generated, so while it’s an AI heavy lift, it won’t happen in real time every time a user asks for it.
Gérard Medioni, vice president of technology at Prime Video, writes that Video Recap is a “one-of-a-kind feature.” [that] demonstrates Prime Video’s continued commitment to innovation and making the viewing experience more accessible and enjoyable for customers. This is the latest AI-powered feature arriving for Prime Video, and it comes more than a year after the streaming platform delivered a major overhaul that impressed some customers and us in our testing.
Assuming these video recaps look good and meet the needs of a fun, engaging, and immersive recap, this could start a trend that other streaming services could copy. I, for one, enjoy a recap of a series – especially if there has been a longer gap between seasons. I needed it when The morning show has returned to Apple TV (formerly Apple TV+), and I’d like to see a fun one for when Ted Lasso returns.
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Additionally, since Prime Video also hosts Prime Video Channels – which let you access content from other streaming services in the same interface – we’ll have to see if Amazon can strike a deal to offer these video recaps for non-Prime Video originals, or if Amazon chooses to extend this to its other internally created, produced or owned content.
I’m looking forward to trying this one out and seeing Prime Video’s video recap in action, but I also have some concerns about their quality and, of course, the impact it might have on the editors, showrunners, and producers who would typically orchestrate recaps at the start of a season.
But if the quality is there and the team decides not to make one, this could make a decent substitute – we’ll have to wait and see, uh, watch.
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