All the big entertainment apps are starting to look the same, and that’s no accident. For a decade, the platforms fought over who would dominate a single format: music, video, podcasts, audiobooks. Now, with the support of artificial intelligence, they strive for something bigger – becoming the app you use by default whenever you have time to kill, no matter what form the content takes.
There are several reasons why this happens. The entertainment app market has matured, so growth has slowed, forcing companies to compete on time spent and revenue per user rather than new signups. Plus, today’s creators often work across multiple formats, so it makes sense to provide a home for all of their content, not just a piece of it.
AI adds a third reason. It makes it easy for a single company to create and run multiple formats, and the broader the content mix, the more time users spend in the app, which in turn increases both ad revenue and subscriptions.
Netflix is a clear example of this trend, as the service in recent years has added games, live sports and other events, and more recently, short video clips and podcasts. The idea is to capture more of users’ time, even when there’s no TV or movie they want to watch, as well as find a way into the shorter free time people usually fill by scrolling through social media, playing casual games, or watching TikTok or Reels.
Spotify is also expanding its footprint beyond its original premise as a home for streaming music. After adding podcasts, the company added support for video podcasts, social features like
Q&A and commentary, stories and messages, and different types of content like fitness classes, audiobooks, narrative magazines, and even book sales.
Meanwhile, YouTube, originally the home of longer-form creator content, has moved to short-form content to compete with TikTok, while also adding dedicated space for podcasts, gaming content, music, movies and TV, sports and news, shopping and more. Now you can watch free, ad-supported movies and TV, stream live content, or rent or buy TV and movies to add to your library. At this rate, folding YouTube TV and YouTube Music into YouTube proper — and selling tiered access to the whole package — looks like a matter of when, not if.
Even TikTok, largely known for short videos, offers support for long-form content and other features like trip planning, shopping, local exploration, buying tickets for live events and more. It even has its own standalone app for micro dramas and another called TikTok Pro Events for sporting events – like the FIFA World Cup – as well as music festivals and more.
While there are still some differences between services today, there is a clear trend toward convergence into a similar set of functions focused on giving users access to content to watch, listen to, play, or shop.
This is where AI comes in. With format no longer a differentiator, the value these apps deliver depends on how well they connect users with what they want next.
The role of AI in creating the entertainment operating system of the future
AI facilitates content recommendations in a variety of formats, improving personalization while giving users more direct control over how those recommendations are made.
Spotify, for example, is testing a tool that will allow you to edit your taste profile, the AI-generated model of your preferences. It’s also creating AI features that let users talk to AI directly about what they want or create playlists of things they like — and not just music.
Netflix has made a similar case. Co-CEO Greg Peters told investors on the company’s first-quarter call that the new model architectures improve customization and let the team iterate faster.
AI-assisted coding also accelerates how quickly these companies can create and launch new areas of content in the first place.
In addition, genetic AI can be used to create content, although the issue remains controversial as artists worry that AI tools will use their work for educational purposes or even put them out of work. Netflix, for better or worse, has been leaning into AI, having recently bought Ben Affleck’s AI movie production company for $587 million, for example.
YouTube used genetic AI to launch more creator tools, but also to improve its search engine, add conversational AI features, create playlists, and expand the reach of its content with auto-dubbing, among other things. Earlier this year, the company said more than a million channels used its AI creation tools, and 20 million consumers used its Gemini AI-powered content discovery tool in December.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has positioned artificial intelligence as a central element of the YouTube experience for creators and viewers.
TikTok has assembled its own version, with an in-app AI chatbot, AI-powered video creation tools, AI-powered search and recommendations, and AI-powered accessibility features.
All four, of course, also apply artificial intelligence to their ad stacks, helping marketers write ads, target audiences, price placements, and measure results.
For consumers, this convergence means fewer reasons to switch apps at all. Whichever you land on gets an advantage — more data about your habits, more lock-in — making it harder to leave even if prices rise or quality drops.
As the lines between music, video, podcasts, books and games blur, the coming battle is no longer which format will win, but which app will become the place for entertainment, regardless of what form it takes.
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