Gen Alpha leads shift to AI-powered entertainment search, discovery and recommendations

New Gracenote study finds behavioral change is well underway, but trust in AI-generated results has not kept pace

NEW YORK, April 8, 2026 - Gracenote, the content intelligence business unit of Nielsen, has examined how AI is changing the ways people find and watch entertainment content in a new report titled "TV search and discovery in the AI era." As adoption of AI-powered entertainment experiences grows-especially among older Gen Alpha respondents (ages 13 and 14)-trust in chatbot-generated responses to content-related queries is lagging.

Gracenote found that usage of chatbots for a range of purposes is gaining traction 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.

That momentum is already shaping how this group discovers entertainment. When asked to name the best source for TV and movie recommendations, 49% of Gen Alpha chose web- 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: 57% of all respondents said these tools could become, or already are, their favored way to get information on why, where and when to watch content.

At the same time, the data points to a growing divide between AI's utility and users' trust in its results. 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."

Skepticism regarding the accuracy of AI-generated results remains high, with three in four respondents saying 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. Notably, among Gen Alpha, the gap nearly vanishes, with 95% rating chatbot results favorably versus 99% for traditional search. Across the study, chatbots were trusted most for TV and movie recommendations (26%) and for helping users find TV, movie and sports programming (25%).

Gracenote's report comes as entertainment providers face mounting pressure to improve discovery in an increasingly fragmented content landscape. As libraries expand across services and platforms, audiences are spending more time choosing what to watch and placing greater value on tools that deliver immediate, accurate and relevant answers.

For streamers, device makers and media companies, the message is clear: helping audiences find programming faster and act on recommendations with confidence will depend not just on AI interfaces, but on the quality of the data powering them.

About the report

"TV Search and Discovery in the AI Era" is based on an online survey of 4,003 U.S. AI chatbot users ages 13-79, fielded Jan. 23 to Feb. 4, 2026. Gen Alpha findings are based on respondents ages 13 and 14. It also draws on Gracenote's 2025 Streaming Consumer Survey (N=3,000 across six countries) and industry data from Nielsen, PwC, Deloitte, Pew Research Center and Veed Analytics. The free report is available for download here.

Tyler Bell will discuss the findings and their implications for the future of content discovery at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas, April 20-22. To schedule a meeting, click here. Or attend his Streaming Summit panel titled "Creating Extraordinary UX: The Role of Content Discovery, UIs, LLMs and Personalization."

About Gracenote

Gracenote is the content intelligence business unit of Nielsen. We standardize the way the global media and entertainment ecosystem indexes content and associated metadata, allowing it to flow between creators, distributors, platforms and advertisers. By providing unmatched depth across 50M+ titles and 80K+ channels and catalogs, we power the modern search, discovery and navigation experiences that connect people to the TV, movies, music and sports they love-in 70+ languages across 80+ countries. For more information, visit Gracenote.com or follow us on LinkedIn.