I’ve been using ChatGPT for a long time now, and I’m not going to give it up anytime soon, especially considering that it’s coming to iOS 18 via the new Apple Intelligence suite of AI features. It’ll be even easier to use ChatGPT for certain things, like watching Netflix.
That’s right, I started using ChatGPT while watching Netflix, and I’ll never go back to streaming movies and shows without having a chatbot around. The only exception will be watching content with others, in which case the ChatGPT breaks might annoy my friends.
A few months ago, I said that I stopped binge-watching Netflix, and it was the best decision I ever made. I use that free time differently, mainly to train for running marathons, where ChatGPT is also involved.
I’m not watching new releases as soon as they come out. I’ll make a note of their arrival and then start streaming them whenever I feel like it. Sometimes, I might catch a couple of episodes in one sitting. Other times, it might be just 10 to 15 minutes before I have to leave the house or do something else.
This is all important context to understand why I found ChatGPT so useful when watching Netflix.
The Crown is one of my favorite Netflix originals, but I stopped watching after season 4. With seasons 5 and 6 available, I got back on it a couple of weeks ago without knowing exactly what I’d be in for. I knew the seasons would focus heavily on the relationship between Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and Prince Charles (Dominic West), and I was just amazed.
Without spoiling anything, I will say that Debicki and West are both spectacular, as is the new roster of actors playing the royals during this particular timeframe. Watching the story unfold, I started remembering things from my teen years about Lady Di, her death, Charles, and the Royal family. It was all a blur, of course.
While The Crown is a fictional story based on real-life events, I had questions about what had happened with Diana and Charles in the late ’90s. Without skipping a beat—and you probably saw this coming by now—I switched to ChatGPT to ask my questions.
As a reminder, chatbots tend to hallucinate and don’t always produce accurate results. That’s why I have custom instructions set up for ChatGPT to give me links for its claims. With that in mind, the topic at hand, Lady Diana’s life, wasn’t a cause of concern for hallucinations. I trusted ChatGPT with the answers. From the moment I started the chat, I kept coming back to it with each new episode I watched.
It’s safe to say that watching Netflix with ChatGPT on hand is a lot more entertaining than I thought. Before ChatGPT, I used to search the web for answers to my questions about a TV show or movie. Or just go straight to Wikipedia. The process still involved pausing Netflix to get my answers.
Now that ChatGPT is available, it’s a lot easier to get that information. I still have to pause playback, which is why I said that I’d watch Netflix with ChatGPT assistance only when I’m alone.
Because, yes, I tend to pause playback quite a few times if I have questions. And ChatGPT’s replies can often make me ask follow-up questions. That’s the beauty of conversing with AI rather than just googling the web for information.
I can’t believe I hadn’t considered this streaming experience before, and I’m glad I skipped seasons 5 and 6 of The Crown during the earlier months of ChatGPT. After all, I would use ChatGPT when visiting new places, like museums, to ask questions about the topic at hand. The same usecase would apply to watching movies and TV shows.
That said, ChatGPT can’t be useful for all types of streaming content. But I’m certain it’ll come in handy when watching shows based on historical events or documentaries.
