OpenAI and JioHotstar launch ChatGPT Content Discovery in India
JioHotstar has joined forces with OpenAI to bring a ChatGPT-branded discovery experience to what is India’s most used streaming service, allowing its nearly half a billion monthly users to search for content via spoken or typed natural language instead of conventional menu navigation.
The partnership sees OpenAI’s technology embedded directly into the JioHotstar app, replacing keyword-driven search with an assistant that can interpret contextual and emotionally nuanced requests. Instead of manually searching for titles, a viewer can describe a family situation or a personal quirk and receive tailored suggestions in response. The tool is also designed to work in tandem with live sports coverage, giving users conversational access to match information, player data and key moments in real time.
The deal is designed to work both ways. JioHotstar’s catalog – which includes more than 300,000 hours of programming in 19 languages, from a broadcast network of more than 100 channels, as well as original and licensed content – will also appear within ChatGPT itself. Users who ask the chatbot for suggestions will receive recommendations with direct links to relevant JioHotstar titles.
JioHotstar’s parent company is JioStar, the Indian media giant formed from the merger of Disney’s Star India and Reliance’s Viacom18.
“AI marks a transformative shift for the media and entertainment industry. It is fundamentally disrupting every aspect of the value chain, from conceptualization and production to discovery and monetization,” said Uday Shankar, Vice Chairman, JioStar. “Our partnership with OpenAI will enable viewers to discover, engage with and even manage content simply by using their voice. This is a fundamental reimagining of the entertainment experience; one that anticipates culture and feels deeply personal to each viewer.”
Fidji Simo, CEO of Applications at OpenAI, added: “Traditionally, entertainment has been a one-way experience where you passively consume content. AI is completely changing that dynamic. Through our partnership with JioHotstar, we are bringing personalized AI directly into entertainment and live sports, making every moment an opportunity for deeper engagement.”
The experience will be introduced gradually, with an initial rollout across a limited number of features, before being deployed more broadly in both on-demand and live formats.
The announcement makes JioHotstar one of the first major streaming platforms in India to integrate a named AI assistant into the core of its product, as the country’s increasingly crowded digital entertainment market forces services to compete on intelligence and personalization rather than just library size.
