Consumers are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots and similar programs to help them find things to watch across streaming services filled with thousands of TV and film options, according to new data released on Thursday by Hub Entertainment Research.
The data shows two out of five streamers are turning to AI programs like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode for recommendations about what to watch and to help them look for particular shows and movies across platforms. The figure increases to more than half of consumers — 57 percent — among streamers between the ages of 16 and 34 years old, Hub’s research found.
Among consumers already using AI for entertainment discovery, 57 percent said the technology works better than traditional search engines, Hub said. Those programs are also attracting viewers who feel that a platform’s built-in search and discovery tools often don’t go far enough in connecting them with the content they want to see at any given point in time.
Despite the growing use of AI, personal recommendations remain the most common way viewers discover their favorite new television programs: Nearly one in three streamers (29 percent) said they found a new favorite show or film to watch based on a word-of-mouth recommendation from a family member or friend, while 21 percent said movie and TV trailers helped point them in the right direction.
Only 14 percent of streamers credited recommendations generated by a streaming service’s own algorithm, Hub said.
Another trend has emerged as streamers look to recommendations from AI and other areas for things to watch: They’re finding older TV shows. Among viewers between 16 and 24 years old, nearly one in four streamers said their favorite new discovery over the past 12 months was a classic TV series, compared with 11 percent of viewers over the age of 35.
“Viewers have plenty to watch, they just need better ways to find it,” Hub Entertainment Research Senior Consultant Jason Platt Zolov said in a statement.
Over the past two year, several connected TV (CTV) platforms have turned to AI as a way to improve their search and discovery. In August 2025, Samsung announced their home screen was getting an AI-powered makeover, which was promoted as a way of improving personalized show and film recommendations for users of its smart TVs. Earlier this year, the company said it was partnering with Nielsen’s metadata business Gracenote to improve content recommendations served by its AI program.
Google has also leaned into AI to improve the user experience for those with Android TV-powered smart TVs and streaming gadgets, incorporating Gemini into new versions of their CTV platform since last year. Others, like LG, Roku and Apple, have made similar moves. Amazon’s Fire TV sticks and Vega OS-powered devices have long used the company’s smart assistant Alexa to help viewers find things to watch across its own streaming TV platforms and some partner apps.
Hub’s latest survey was conducted in October and is based on responses from more than 1,600 U.S. consumers.
