Missed That Scene On Prime Video? Don’t Rewind, Amazon Says – Let The AI-Powered X-Ray Recaps Take Over

Prime Video has expanded X-Ray, its product feature offering on-screen actor credits and production information, to offer viewers recaps of episodes or full seasons of Amazon MGM Studios Original series.

The generative AI feature, X-Ray Recaps, creates “brief, easy-to-digest summaries of full seasons of TV shows, single episodes, and even pieces of episodes,” a blog post explained, “all personalized down to the exact minute of where you are watching.”

The offering is designed to increase engagement and reduce friction for viewers who either stepped away from the TV or stepped away from a show midway through a season.

X-Ray Recaps builds upon Prime Video’s existing X-Ray features, which offer trivia and information about elements like the cast or the soundtrack as well as production details. As Prime Video has added live sports, notably NFL Thursday Night Football, it has integrated X-Ray into telecasts, helping viewers identify players and learn their stats, on-field tendencies and more. Viewers can also get highlights of key plays up to the point when they joined a live game.

“Prime Video product and technology teams work relentlessly behind-the-scenes to enhance customers’ viewing experience, and with the creation of X-Ray Recaps, we’re directly addressing a common problem customers face when streaming content: forgetting where they left off,” said Adam Gray, VP of product at Prime Video. “With this context-aware functionality, Prime Video will deliver summaries of memorable moments and important plot points, so our customers can quickly jump back into what they were watching or rediscover why they fell in love with a series in the first place.”

The blog post included a recommendation to viewers looking to get caught up on a show, urging them to resist traditional methods that have been in place since the VCR days. “While your initial instinct may be to rewind or search online for a summary,” it said, “this approach is inconvenient and takes you away from the streaming experience. You also run the risk of encountering a spoiler or re-watching parts you’ve already seen.”