Highlights
- Netflix revealed that approximately 300 titles released in 2026 used generative AI-assisted workflows.
- According to Ted Sarandos, AI is primarily being used in post-production.
- The disclosure highlighted the company’s broader strategy of treating AI as a creative production tool rather than a replacement for human oversight.
Netflix has significantly expanded its use of generative artificial intelligence across its content slate, revealing that about 300 titles released or streaming in 2026 have incorporated AI-assisted workflows. The disclosure came in the company’s second-quarter 2026 shareholder letter and earnings call, released on July 16.
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos outlined how the technology is being integrated into production. “Gen AI is scaling quickly across the entire creative process, from concept to pre-vis through post and delivery,” said Sarandos.
Sarandos highlighted that the tools are concentrated mainly in post-production, where they assist with complex shots such as crowd enhancements and historical battle sequences that would otherwise be difficult or costly to produce. The company cited productions such as The American Experiment (U.S.), Glory (India), and Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri (Brazil) as examples of projects that incorporated Gen-AI into their workflows.
Sarandos Frames AI as a Creative Tool at Netflix, Not a Creative Replacement
The announcement marks Netflix's clearest indication yet that generative AI has moved beyond limited experimentation into broader production use. The company has previously disclosed isolated use of AI-powered visual effects, such as in The Eternaut.
The latest figure of 300 titles suggests the technology is now being deployed across hundreds of titles rather than select productions.
During the earnings call, Sarandos pointed towards a 17-minute AI-enhanced footage of The American Experiment that was completed twice as fast and at half the cost of earlier alternatives. Sarandos also said that using gen-AI expanded the scope of production in ways that “wouldn’t have been feasible before.”
According to Sarandos, a number of these AI-assisted shots might never have made it into the final production, as traditional methods would have made them too expensive to execute.” Using AI enables creators to achieve higher-quality results within existing production schedules and budgets.
He also noted that Netflix’s deal with InterPositive, the AI production company co-founded by Ben Affleck, remains in its “early days” but is already showing impact alongside the company’s other in-house tools such as INKubator. Nonetheless, Netflix’s approach contrasts with ongoing industry concerns surrounding AI’s impact on creative jobs.
The stance is similar to some production initiatives observed across other international production houses, such as in South Korea’s SBS subsidiary Studio S. SBS' Agent Kim: Reactivated became the first K-Drama to use an AI-assisted sequence, using the native AI tool, AICRON.
The recent comments echo remarks Sarandos made to POLITICO in March 2026, when he said AI “should be a creator tool” and cautioned that speed and lower costs mean little without a quality bar. “I don't think faster and cheaper matters if it's not better,” he said at the time.
The AI disclosure came alongside Netflix’s mixed Q2 report. Netflix posted revenue of $12.56 billion USD, a 13.4% year-over-year increase, with net income of $3.4B. Operating margin came in at 33.4%, decreasing from 34.1% a year earlier. Separately, the company also reported that viewers watched more than 97B hours during the first half of 2026, underscoring continued engagement as it expands investments in AI, gaming, and advertising to support its next phase of growth.
