Netflix did not use the word AI once in its third-quarter shareholder letter on 20 October1. Nor did the published transcript of its earnings interview that day2, or the 10-Q it filed on 21 October3. The 10-Q is the quarterly report US-listed companies file with regulators.
The second-quarter letter in July used "AI" four times and said "GenAI utilization by our creative partners is scaling quickly"4. That month Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive, named Interpositive, Eyeline and Animation Lab as Netflix's AI production tools. The July 10-Q was already silent; the letter and the interview have now followed it. In August Netflix was selling AI-creative tooling inside its Ads Suite, but this quarter's ads paragraph names programmatic deals (automated ad buying) and new partners MercadoLibre and Adform, with no AI wording.
Analyst Dan Kurnos asked about "your recent headcount reductions, which is the largest since 2022", and co-chief executive Greg Peters replied that Netflix has "a responsibility to make hard trade-offs in service of our members"5. Peters also said advertising was "a bit behind our aggressive target for the year" after delays in rollout and partner integrations.
Technology and development spending rose 21% to $1,033.1m from $853.6m a year earlier, almost twice the pace of revenue growth (11.8%)6. Nothing in the filings shows Netflix has stopped using the tools; it has stopped telling investors about them.
