Amazon Fire TV Devices Will Now Let You Search for Movie Recommendations

Amazon Fire TV devices are getting an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered feature upgrade that will make it easier for users to discover new shows and movies. The e-commerce giant is integrating its in-house AI model to power its search feature. The company says it will allow users to search for content based on genre, plot, and more. Calling it a personalised content recommendation feature, Amazon has begun rolling out the AI search feature in the US in the English language.

Amazon Fire TV’s AI Search Feature: How it Works

In a newsroom post, Amazon cited Nielsen’s 2023 State of Play report to highlight that the “average streaming customer spends more than 10 minutes searching for options each time they access their streaming services”.

Most people have likely faced the situation when they are in the mood to watch something new but struggle to find something that captures their attention. The process can even take a while, considering most streaming platforms have a large catalogue of movies and TV shows. The tech giant is solving the problem by adding AI capabilities to its Search feature.

The update doesn’t change the appearance of the search feature. However, owners of a Fire TV device with Fire OS 6 or later, will now be able to find relevant results for complex search queries such as “Show me psychological thrillers with surprise endings.” This is possible due to one of Amazon’s in-house large language models. The company did not specify which AI model was used to enable the feature.

Where to Use Amazon Fire TV’s New AI Search Feature

With this new capability, users will be able to search for movies and shows based on topics, genres, plots, characters, actors, and even by quotes. The feature will show results from Prime Video as well as other subscription libraries of the user (such as Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar etc) so they only see the content which is already available to them for free. The AI search feature is Alexa-supported, so users can also verbally look for content recommendations instead of typing them.

The feature is rolling out to users in the US in English on select Fire TV devices running Fire OS 6 and later and will roll out to all eligible devices in the coming weeks. Amazon did not share any timelines for a global release of this feature or support for additional languages.

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