July 23, 2026, (Inside AI) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has pushed Prime Video chief Mike Hopkins to overhaul the streaming service with artificial intelligence at its core, according to four people with direct knowledge. The project, internally called Lighthouse, aims to showcase Amazon's AI prowess to over 200 million Prime Video users as the company battles rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Lighthouse emerged from a contentious meeting last autumn when Bezos rejected Hopkins' initial plans for lacking AI focus. The redesign includes AI-driven features to improve film and TV recommendations by learning user preferences and responding to spoken requests. Prime Video is testing a redesigned home page with AI-generated tiles suggesting categories like "action movies from the 1980s" or "Christmas rom-coms," though one source said current versions avoid text-heavy tiles.
Bezos' personal involvement is unusual since he stepped back from daily operations in 2021. His push reflects Amazon's urgency to elevate its AI stature amid mixed results from other initiatives like the Alexa overhaul, which remains unprofitable. Amazon has committed roughly $200 billion in capital expenditures this year, primarily for AI, and invested an initial $23 billion in OpenAI and Anthropic combined.
The redesign could disrupt Prime Video's lucrative home screen real estate, where studios pay for placement. "The real estate on the home screen is very valuable to studios, so it would be a big change to take away any of that coveted space," said Michael Goodman, director of entertainment research for Parks Associates. Amazon is already testing versions with select users, and plans may shift based on feedback.
Prime Video is the fourth most-watched streaming service in the U.S., with a 4.2% share of TV viewing, trailing YouTube (13.4%), Netflix (7.8%), and Disney+ (5%), per Nielsen data. Amazon aims to make Prime Video a central hub for paid subscriptions, following a July 2024 redesign that clarified free versus paid content. The Lighthouse project also explores integrating the Alexa voice assistant into search, leveraging Amazon's generative AI version released in early 2025 and integrated into the shopping site in May 2026.
Kam Keshmiri, global head of Prime Video design, leads the Lighthouse redesign after attending the pivotal meeting with Bezos. Amazon's AI push on Prime Video could boost engagement through better personalization, but it faces the challenge of balancing studio relationships with algorithmic recommendations. The company's broader AI ambitions include its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM in 2022, which expanded its entertainment catalog with franchises like James Bond.
Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post and space firm Blue Origin, has focused more on his AI startup Prometheus, reportedly valued at around $41 billion. His direct oversight of Lighthouse signals the project's strategic importance as Amazon seeks to prove its AI capabilities to consumers and investors alike. Early testing feedback and financial considerations will determine the final design, but the initiative underscores how streaming platforms are becoming battlegrounds for AI supremacy.
