Netflix Adopts AI Technology for Film and TV Production

Companies that create AI models and tools for video frequently discuss partnering with Hollywood studios to enable certain processes. Netflix announced on Thursday that it has begun using AI into the production of films and television series.

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos stated on the company’s post-results conference call that the platform included “the very first GenAI final footage to appear on screen” in an Argentine television program titled “El Eternauta” (“The Eternaut”). He mentioned that Netflix’s in-house production team collaborated with filmmakers to create a scene of a building collapse using artificial intelligence.

According to him, Netflix and visual effects (VFX) artists used artificial intelligence (AI) to create a building collapse in Buenos Aires in the series, which centres on survivors of a swift and destructive toxic snowstorm.

“That VFX sequence was actually finished ten times faster than it could have been with traditional VFX tools and workflows, and they were able to achieve an amazing result with remarkable speed using AI-powered tools,” he said.

Also, according to him, Netflix was able to finance the show at a significantly lower cost than is customary for a big-budget production by utilizing AI capabilities. Sarandos discussed further regarding the scene which was completed ten times quicker and at a lower cost with AI than it would have using conventional visual effects methods.

“A show with that budget simply couldn’t have afforded the cost of [the special effects without AI],” Sarandos stated.

“We continue to believe that artificial intelligence (AI) offers a fantastic chance to assist producers in producing better, not just cheaper and affordable movies and television shows. AI-powered tools for creators are available. Thus, they are actual people using improved tools to complete real tasks. The benefits of pre-visualization, shot planning, and undoubtedly visual effects are already being felt by our creators in production. In the past, sophisticated visual effects like de-aging were only available for large-scale projects, he stated on the call.

According to co-CEO Greg Peters, Netflix plans to launch interactive advertisements in the second part of this year and is utilizing generative AI in other domains, such as personalization, search, and advertising. The startup unveiled AI-powered search earlier this year.

Fears of employment losses have been raised by the entertainment industry’s use of generative AI, especially in sectors like production and special effects.

AI was a major issue of contention in two strikes by Hollywood writers and performers in 2023, which resulted in agreements to guarantee that the new technology remained under workers’ control rather than being used to replace them.

“This is real people doing real work with better tools,” Sarandos stated. The benefits of pre-visualization, shot planning, and undoubtedly visual effects are already being felt by our creators in production. These tools, in my opinion, are assisting producers in extending the potential of cinematic storytelling, which is incredibly thrilling. 

Netflix reported $11.08 billion in sales and $3.13 billion in earnings for the second quarter ending in June, up 16% over the same period last year. In the first half of 2025, users viewed over 95 billion hours of material, with one-third of all views coming from non-English titles, according to the report.

The success of the third and final season of the Korean thriller Squid Game, according to the firm, contributed to its better-than-expected performance.

This year, Netflix anticipates that its modest but rapidly expanding advertising business will “roughly double” in size.

“Excellent content, higher pricing, and simultaneous advertising momentum are the reasons behind Netflix’s better-than-expected quarter,” stated Mike Proulx, vice-president of research at market research firm Forrester. “The hardest part is in Netflix’s rear view mirror with the full rollout of its proprietary ad tech platform, but there is still work to be done to strengthen its ad capabilities.”