Netflix、Spotify、YouTube 和 TikTok 等主流娱乐应用正借助 AI 加速功能趋同，从单一格式（音乐、视频、播客）向覆盖观看、收听、游戏、购物的"万能娱乐应用"转型。
所有大型娱乐平台应用程序开始看起来都差不多，这并非偶然。十年来，各个平台都在争夺谁能主导单一内容形式：音乐、视频、播客、有声书。现在，在人工智能的推动下，它们争夺的是更大的目标——成为你在闲暇时默认打开的应用程序，无论内容形式如何。
造成这种情况有几个原因。娱乐应用程序市场正在成熟，因此增长放缓，迫使公司在用户使用时间和每用户收入上竞争，而不是争取新用户。此外，如今的创作者通常跨多种形式工作，因此为他们所有的内容提供一个统一平台，而不仅仅是一部分，显得很有意义。
人工智能提供了第三个原因。它使单一公司更容易建立并运行多种内容形式，而且内容类型越丰富，用户在应用中的停留时间就越长，从而推动广告收入和订阅收入的增长。
Netflix就是这一趋势的一个明显例子。过去几年，这项服务增加了游戏、现场体育和其他活动，最近还增加了短视频：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/07/netflix-dabbles-in-shorter-video-content-with-its-new-set-of-publisher-deals-with-variety-others/ 和播客。其理念是捕获更多用户时间，即使没有电视节目或电影可看，同时也找到进入人们通常用来刷社交媒体、玩休闲游戏或观看TikTok或Reels的零散空闲时间的方法。
Spotify 也一直在逐步扩展其影响力，超越了作为音乐流媒体平台的最初定位。在增加了播客功能后，公司又增加了对视频播客、社交功能（如问答和评论）、故事功能以及消息功能的支持，还扩展了不同类型的内容，如健身课程、有声书、配音杂志，甚至包括实体书销售。
与此同时，YouTube 原本是长视频创作者内容的聚集地，但为了与 TikTok 竞争，它开始涉足短视频内容，同时还为播客、游戏内容、音乐、电影和电视、体育和新闻、购物等增加了专门的空间。现在，你可以免费观看电影和电视节目，通过广告支持；在线观看实时内容；或租赁或购买电视和电影以加入你的库。照这个趋势，将 YouTube TV 和 YouTube Music 整合到 YouTube 平台，并为整个套餐提供分级访问，似乎只是时间问题，而非是否会发生的问题。
即使是主要以短视频著称的 TikTok，也提供对长格式内容的支持：https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/28/tiktok-expands-max-video-length-to-10-minutes-up-from-3-minutes/ 以及其他功能：https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/26/tiktoks-road-to-becoming-a-super-app/，比如旅行规划：https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/12/tiktok-now-wants-to-be-the-place-you-book-the-trip-you-just-saw-on-tiktok/、购物：https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/12/tiktok-shop-officially-launches-in-the-u-s/、本地探索：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/11/tiktok-launches-an-opt-in-local-feed-in-the-u-s-leveraging-users-precise-location/、购买现场活动门票：https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/tiktok-partners-with-axs-to-sell-tickets-for-live-events-worldwide/，甚至有自己的微剧独立应用：https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/tiktok-quietly-launches-a-micro-drama-app-called-pinedrama/，还有一个名为 TikTok Pro Events：https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/03/tiktok-launches-tiktok-pro-events-an-app-for-cultural-moments-like-the-fifa-world-cup/ 的应用面向体育赛事——如 FIFA 世界杯——以及音乐节等活动。
虽然目前这些服务之间仍存在一些差异，但显而易见的趋势是，这些服务正在趋向于整合，集中在为用户提供可以观看、聆听、玩或者购物的内容访问功能。
这也是人工智能发挥作用的地方。因为格式已不再是差异化因素，这些应用提供的价值取决于它们能多好地将用户与他们接下来想要的内容连接起来。
人工智能使跨格式的内容推荐更容易，增强了个性化，同时也让用户对这些推荐的生成方式拥有更多直接控制权。
例如，Spotify 正在测试一款工具，让你可以编辑你的品味档案：https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/13/spotify-will-let-you-edit-your-taste-profile-to-control-your-recommendations/，这是其基于人工智能构建的个人偏好模型。它还在开发让用户可以直接与人工智能聊天的新功能：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/14/spotify-expands-its-ai-push-with-a-chatgpt-like-music-assistant/，讨论他们想要的内容或制作播放列表：https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/spotify-brings-ai-powered-prompted-playlists-to-the-u-s-and-canada/，不仅限于音乐：https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/07/spotifys-prompted-playlist-feature-will-now-work-for-podcasts-too/。
Netflix 也提出了类似的观点。联合首席执行官 Greg Peters 在公司第一季度电话会议上告诉投资者：https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/17/netflix-plans-to-add-a-vertical-video-feed-use-ai-for-recommendations/，新的模型架构正在改善个性化，并让团队能够更快地迭代。
人工智能辅助编码也加快了这些公司首次构建和发布新内容领域的速度。
此外，生成式人工智能可以用于内容创作，尽管这一话题仍有争议，因为艺术家担心人工智能工具会使用他们的作品进行训练，甚至可能让他们失业。无论好坏，Netflix 都在大力使用人工智能：https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/21/netflix-goes-all-in-on-generative-ai-as-entertainment-industry-remains-divided/，例如，近日以 5.87 亿美元收购了 Ben Affleck 的人工智能电影制作公司：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/19/netflix-paid-587m-for-ben-afflecks-ai-filmmaking-startup/。
YouTube 已经使用生成式人工智能推出了更多创作者工具：https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/16/youtube-announces-new-generative-ai-tools-for-shorts-creators/，并改进了其搜索引擎：https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/28/youtube-is-testing-an-ai-powered-search-feature-that-shows-guided-answers/，增加了对话式人工智能功能：https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/ask-youtube-brings-ai-powered-conversational-search-to-video-adds-gemini-omni-to-shorts/，构建播放列表：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/youtube-rolls-out-an-ai-playlist-generator-for-premium-users/，并通过自动配音扩大内容覆盖范围：https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/youtube-ai-updates-to-include-expansion-of-auto-dubbing-age-identifying-tech-and-more/ 等等。今年早些时候，该公司表示：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/05/googles-subscriptions-rise-in-q4-as-youtube-pulls-60b-in-yearly-revenue/ 超过一百万个频道使用了其人工智能创作工具，且 2000 万用户在 12 月份使用了其 Gemini AI 驱动的内容发现工具。
Alphabet 首席执行官 Sundar Pichai 将人工智能定位为创作者和观众在 YouTube 体验中的核心。
TikTok 也组建了自己的版本，拥有应用内人工智能聊天机器人：https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/25/tiktok-is-testing-an-in-app-ai-chatbot-called-tako/，人工智能视频创作工具：https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/13/tiktok-launches-tiktok-ai-alive-a-new-image-to-video-tool/，人工智能驱动的搜索：https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/03/tiktok-rolls-out-ai-powered-smart-keyword-filters-to-limit-content-you-dont-want-to-see/ 和推荐，以及人工智能驱动的无障碍功能：https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/14/tiktok-rolls-out-new-accessibility-tools-including-ai-generated-alt-text/。
当然，这四家也都在对其广告系统应用人工智能，帮助营销人员撰写广告、定位受众、定价广告位并衡量结果。
对于消费者而言，这种融合意味着几乎没有理由切换应用。无论你选择哪个平台，它都会获得优势——更多关于你习惯的数据，更高的用户粘性——即使价格上涨或质量下降，也更难离开。
随着音乐、视频、播客、书籍和游戏之间的界限变得模糊，即将到来的竞争不再是哪个格式会胜出，而是哪个应用程序会成为娱乐的首选场所，无论这种娱乐以何种形式呈现。
当您通过我们文章中的链接进行购买时，我们可能会赚取一小部分佣金：https://techcrunch.com/techcrunch-affiliate-monetization-standards/。这不会影响我们的编辑独立性。
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All the big entertainment apps are starting to look the same, and that’s not an accident. For a decade, platforms fought over who would dominate a single format: music, video, podcasts, audiobooks. Now, powered by AI, they’re fighting over something bigger — becoming the app you default to whenever you have time to kill, no matter what form the content takes.
There are several reasons why this is the case. The market for entertainment apps is reaching maturity, so growth has slowed, pushing companies to compete on time spent and revenue-per-user instead of new sign-ups. In addition, today’s creators often work across formats, so it makes sense to provide a home for all their content, not just one piece of it.
AI adds a third reason. It makes it easier for a single company to build and run several formats well, and the wider the content mix, the more time users spend in the app, which in turn drives both ad revenue and subscriptions.
Netflix is one clear example of this trend, as the service over the past several years has added gaming, live sports and other events, and, more recently, short video clips：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/07/netflix-dabbles-in-shorter-video-content-with-its-new-set-of-publisher-deals-with-variety-others/ and podcasts. The idea is to capture more of users’ time, even when there’s not a TV or movie they want to watch, as well as to find a way into the smaller bits of free time that people usually fill with scrolling social media, playing casual games, or watching TikTok or Reels.
Spotify has also been 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：https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/10/spotify-is-no-longer-just-a-streaming-app-its-a-social-network/ like Q&As and commenting, stories：https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/08/spotify-introduces-countdown-pages-and-its-own-stories-feature/, and messaging：https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/26/spotify-launches-a-messages-feature-in-a-bid-to-become-more-social/, as well as different types of content like fitness classes：https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/27/spotifys-next-frontier-fitness-content/, audiobooks：https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/05/spotify-expands-audibook-access-to-family-plan-members-in-the-u-s-for-the-first-time/, narrated magazines：https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/26/spotify-now-lets-you-stream-narrated-magazine-articles-too/, and even physical book sales：https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/15/spotify-launches-the-ability-to-purchase-physical-books-in-the-us-and-uk/.
Meanwhile, YouTube, originally the home to longer-form creator content, moved into short-form content to compete with TikTok, while also adding dedicated space：https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/22/youtube-launches-a-dedicated-podcasts-homepage-for-u-s-users/ for podcasts：https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/28/youtube-adds-new-podcast-features-including-an-ai-recommendation-tool-and-auto-speed/, gaming content, music, movies and TV, sports and news, shopping, and more. Now you can watch free movies and TV：https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/23/youtube-to-stream-free-ad-supported-tv-shows-for-the-first-time/, supported by ads; 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 bundle — looks like a matter of when, not if.
Even TikTok, largely known for short videos, offers support for long-form content：https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/28/tiktok-expands-max-video-length-to-10-minutes-up-from-3-minutes/ and other features,：https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/26/tiktoks-road-to-becoming-a-super-app/ like travel planning：https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/12/tiktok-now-wants-to-be-the-place-you-book-the-trip-you-just-saw-on-tiktok/, shopping：https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/12/tiktok-shop-officially-launches-in-the-u-s/, local exploration：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/11/tiktok-launches-an-opt-in-local-feed-in-the-u-s-leveraging-users-precise-location/, buying tickets：https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/tiktok-partners-with-axs-to-sell-tickets-for-live-events-worldwide/ to live events, and more. It even has its own stand-alone app for microdramas：https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/tiktok-quietly-launches-a-micro-drama-app-called-pinedrama/ and another called TikTok Pro Events：https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/03/tiktok-launches-tiktok-pro-events-an-app-for-cultural-moments-like-the-fifa-world-cup/ for sporting events — like the FIFA World Cup — plus music festivals, and more.
While there are still some differentiators between the services today, there’s an obvious trend toward convergence over a similar set of features focused on providing users with access to content to watch, listen, play, or shop.
This is also where AI comes into play. With format no longer a differentiator, the value these apps offer comes down to how well they connect users with what they want next.
AI makes content recommendation across formats easier, sharpening personalization while also giving users more direct control over how those recommendations get made.
Spotify, for instance, is testing a tool that will let you edit your Taste Profile：https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/13/spotify-will-let-you-edit-your-taste-profile-to-control-your-recommendations/, its AI-built model of your preferences. It’s also building AI features that let users chat with AI directly：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/14/spotify-expands-its-ai-push-with-a-chatgpt-like-music-assistant/ about what they want or build playlists：https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/spotify-brings-ai-powered-prompted-playlists-to-the-u-s-and-canada/ of things they like — and not just music：https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/07/spotifys-prompted-playlist-feature-will-now-work-for-podcasts-too/.
Netflix has made a similar case. Co-CEO Greg Peters told：https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/17/netflix-plans-to-add-a-vertical-video-feed-use-ai-for-recommendations/ investors in the company’s first-quarter call that new model architectures are improving personalization and letting the team iterate faster.
AI-assisted coding is also speeding up how fast these companies can build and launch new content areas in the first place.
Plus, generative AI can be used for content creation, though the subject remains controversial as artists worry that AI tools will use their work for training purposes or even put them out of work. Netflix, for better or for worse, has leaned into AI：https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/21/netflix-goes-all-in-on-generative-ai-as-entertainment-industry-remains-divided/, having recently bought：https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/19/netflix-paid-587m-for-ben-afflecks-ai-filmmaking-startup/ Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking company for $587 million, for instance.
YouTube has used generative AI to launch more creator tools：https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/16/youtube-announces-new-generative-ai-tools-for-shorts-creators/ and to improve its search engine：https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/28/youtube-is-testing-an-ai-powered-search-feature-that-shows-guided-answers/, add conversational AI features：https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/ask-youtube-brings-ai-powered-conversational-search-to-video-adds-gemini-omni-to-shorts/, build playlists：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/youtube-rolls-out-an-ai-playlist-generator-for-premium-users/, and expand its content’s reach with auto-dubbing：https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/youtube-ai-updates-to-include-expansion-of-auto-dubbing-age-identifying-tech-and-more/, among other things. Earlier this year, the company said：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/05/googles-subscriptions-rise-in-q4-as-youtube-pulls-60b-in-yearly-revenue/ that more than a million channels used its AI creation tools and 20 million consumers used its Gemini AI-powered content discovery tool in the month of December.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has framed AI as central to the YouTube experience for creators and viewers alike.
TikTok has assembled its own version, with an in-app AI chatbot：https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/25/tiktok-is-testing-an-in-app-ai-chatbot-called-tako/, AI video-creation tools：https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/13/tiktok-launches-tiktok-ai-alive-a-new-image-to-video-tool/, AI-driven search：https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/03/tiktok-rolls-out-ai-powered-smart-keyword-filters-to-limit-content-you-dont-want-to-see/ and recommendations, and AI-powered accessibility features：https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/14/tiktok-rolls-out-new-accessibility-tools-including-ai-generated-alt-text/.
All four are, of course, also applying AI 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 one you land on gains an advantage — more data on your habits, more lock-in — making it harder to leave even if prices climb 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 to go for entertainment, regardless of what form that comes in.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission：https://techcrunch.com/techcrunch-affiliate-monetization-standards/. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
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