Prime Video AI redesign is pushed by Jeff Bezos, Reuters reports
Reuters says Jeff Bezos urged Prime Video to make AI more visible through an internal project called Lighthouse.
By Rafael Ortiz · Fintech Correspondent
· 3 min read
Amazon is working on a Prime Video AI redesign after founder Jeff Bezos urged the streaming unit to put the company’s artificial intelligence work more prominently in front of users, Reuters reported Thursday, citing four people with direct knowledge of the matter. The effort, known internally as Lighthouse, would expose Prime Video’s audience of more than 200 million people to AI features Amazon has spent hundreds of billions of dollars developing, according to the report.
Reuters said Bezos pressed Mike Hopkins, the executive who leads Prime Video, to rework the service so it better showcases Amazon’s AI and personalization capabilities. PYMNTS said it contacted Amazon for comment and had not received a response.
The reported redesign comes as Amazon seeks stronger recognition in artificial intelligence against companies including OpenAI and Anthropic, according to Reuters’ sources. Amazon has made large commitments to AI across its businesses, while some consumer-facing projects have had uneven results. Reuters has previously reported, citing sources, that the long-running effort to make Alexa more conversational has produced mixed results and that the Alexa division continues to lose money.
Why is Amazon redesigning Prime Video around AI?
Reuters reported that Prime Video executives presented plans for an updated service to Bezos last fall, and that the meeting became contentious. According to people cited by Reuters, Bezos was dissatisfied because the proposal did not do enough to highlight Prime Video’s AI and personalization tools.
After that meeting, Amazon abandoned its earlier plans and began Lighthouse, Reuters reported. The project positions Prime Video as a consumer showcase for AI, rather than only a subscription streaming service carrying films, series and live content.
Personalization in a streaming product refers to software that tailors what a viewer sees, including how content is surfaced or arranged, based on signals available to the platform. Reuters’ reporting did not specify the exact features Lighthouse will include, but said the objective is to give users a clearer view of Amazon’s AI capabilities.
The strategy would use a high-traffic consumer service to demonstrate technology that Amazon is also developing across other parts of its business. Prime Video’s scale gives Amazon a large channel for making AI more visible to households that may not interact directly with its cloud or enterprise AI offerings.
How the report fits into Amazon’s wider consumer strategy
The Prime Video effort comes as Amazon is also competing for a larger role in planned and delivered purchases. PYMNTS Intelligence research cited by PYMNTS found that Walmart continues to lead in routine shopping trips, especially groceries, while Amazon is gaining in purchases that consumers research, plan and have delivered.
The research said shoppers are increasingly choosing retailers according to the type of purchase, rather than relying only on the most convenient option. It also found that frequent store visits no longer necessarily translate into a larger share of discretionary spending, with customers still turning to Walmart for day-to-day essentials while using Amazon more for deliberate, higher-value purchases.
PYMNTS said the findings point to opportunities for retailers that connect physical stores, digital services and flexible payment options. For Amazon, Reuters’ report on Lighthouse suggests another consumer-facing channel where digital engagement, personalization and AI may become more central to how the company presents its services.
This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.
