Amazon Prime Video is introducing a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature designed to enhance the viewing experience by providing users with spoiler-free recaps of the shows they are watching. The feature, named X-Ray Recaps, was announced on Monday and complements the existing X-Ray functionality, which offers trivia, cast information, and soundtrack details about movies and series. According to the company, X-Ray Recaps will allow viewers to access brief summaries of shows, tailored to the exact minute where they last paused their viewing.
Amazon Prime Video Launches X-Ray Recaps
In a recent announcement, Amazon elaborated on the capabilities of this new AI feature for its streaming service. The company emphasized that X-Ray Recaps addresses a common issue for viewers—obtaining concise, spoiler-free recaps of episodes.
Customers often seek quick summaries to catch up on shows they haven’t watched in a while or to refresh their memories before diving into a new season. While other sources, such as third-party websites, provide video and text recaps, they can be challenging to navigate, especially if looking for specific episodes, and are often filled with spoilers.
Functionality Overview of Amazon Prime Video’s X-Ray Recaps
Amazon Prime Video’s X-Ray Recaps applies generative AI technology to produce brief summaries covering entire seasons, individual episodes, and specific segments—tailored precisely to the viewer’s current point in the program. These summaries focus on key moments such as cliffhangers and significant character developments.
The feature leverages Amazon Bedrock, a service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) designed for building AI applications. In addition, custom AI models developed using Amazon SageMaker are utilized to analyze video segments and subtitle content to create these summaries. The announcement noted that “guardrails” have been implemented to ensure that the summaries remain concise and free from spoilers.
Currently, X-Ray Recaps is in beta testing and is available on Fire TV devices in the United States, with plans to expand support to more devices by year’s end. At this stage, the feature is limited to original series from Amazon MGM Studios, including titles like Daisy Jones and the Six, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Wheel of Time, and The Boys.
