Amazon on Monday introduced X-Ray Recaps, a new feature powered by generative AI to help viewers quickly catch up on their favorite shows.
Described as a “convenient way” to stay up to date without skipping scenes or risking spoilers, X-Ray Recaps provides brief, AI-generated summaries whenever users need a refresher, according to Amazon.
What is X-Ray Recaps?
X-Ray Recaps offers concise, text-based summaries of full seasons, individual episodes, or specific moments within episodes. This feature uses generative AI to create personalized recaps tailored to the exact point where viewers paused or resumed their show. This allows users to seamlessly pick up key plot points and character arcs, whether they are just starting an episode or jumping back in after a break.
Enhanced Viewing with X-Ray Recaps
Expanding upon Prime Video’s original X-Ray feature—which provides cast details, trivia, soundtrack information, and production facts—X-Ray Recaps focuses on summarizing essential story elements like cliffhangers and important character developments. Users can access these short snippets to catch up on the storyline without having to skip scenes.
How X-Ray Recaps Works
X-Ray Recaps is powered by Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) generative AI service that allows for scalable AI applications.
By utilizing a mix of Amazon Bedrock models and AI models built on Amazon SageMaker, X-Ray Recaps analyzes video segments alongside subtitles and dialogue to produce clear, spoiler-free summaries. Amazon’s AI guardrails ensure that the summaries remain concise and free of spoilers.
Accessing X-Ray Recaps
Viewers can access X-Ray Recaps from the Prime Video detail page or during playback through the X-Ray interface. The feature offers several recap options, including episode-specific summaries, season progress updates, and recaps of previous seasons, making it flexible for varied viewing needs.
Availability
X-Ray Recaps is currently in beta and is initially available to Fire TV users in the U.S., with plans to expand support to additional devices by year-end. At launch, the feature will cover all Amazon MGM Studios Original series, including Daisy Jones & The Six, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Wheel of Time, and The Boys.
Speaking about the new feature, Adam Gray, Vice President of Product at Prime Video, said,
Our Prime Video product and technology teams work tirelessly behind the scenes to enhance customers’ viewing experience. With the creation of X-Ray Recaps, we’re directly addressing a common issue customers encounter while streaming: remembering where they left off. This context-aware functionality enables Prime Video to provide summaries of key moments and significant plot points, allowing our customers to quickly resume what they were watching or rekindle their connection to a favorite series.