Gen Alpha turns to AI chatbots for TV recommendations

Gracenote has examined how AI is changing the ways people find and watch entertainment content. 

In its report ‘TV Search and Discovery in the AI Era’, it found the use of chatbots is gaining traction in discovering content across generations, with 66% reporting increased use over the past 12 to 18 months. 

Among Gen Alpha, that figure rises to 80%, and more than half say they use chatbots daily.

When asked to name the best source for TV and movie recommendations, 49% of Gen Alpha chose online and app-based AI chatbots, topping streaming and cable service user interfaces and program guides (41%) and internet search engine results (11%). 

The trend extends beyond Gen Alpha, with 57% of all respondents said these tools could become, or already are, their favoured way to get information on why, where and when to watch content.

Respondents prefer chatbots over traditional search for complex questions (68% vs. 19%), follow-up questions (69% vs. 18%), direct answers (54% vs. 31%) and comprehensive results (50% vs. 30%). 

Traditional search, however, still leads on trustworthiness (50% vs. 27%) and accuracy (46% vs. 33%).

“People are rapidly embracing AI as a new way to search, discover and decide what to watch, especially Gen Alpha audiences, who already expect easy-to-use, conversational interfaces,” said Tyler Bell, SVP of Product at Gracenote. “But adoption alone is not the story: trust is. The winning platforms will be those that can deliver viewing experiences people can actually rely on — grounded in vetted, timely and high-quality data.”

Three in four respondents say they verify chatbot responses, mostly by cross-checking with internet search. 

That same caution carries into entertainment-specific use cases, such as content recommendations and program availability. 

While 92% of those surveyed rated internet search accuracy for entertainment as good or excellent, 85% said the same of AI. 

However, among Gen Alpha, the gap nearly vanishes, with 95% rating chatbot results favourably versus 99% for traditional search. 

‘TV Search and Discovery in the AI Era’ is based on an online survey of 4,003 US AI chatbot users ages 13-79. It took place between 23 January and 4 February 2026.