The ‘What To Watch’ dilemma no longer needs to be solved with extensive scrolling or calling friends for suggestions. JioHotstar, in partnership with OpenAI, has announced the launch of a ChatGPT-powered conversational discovery experience which will let users of the streaming platform move beyond keyword-based discovery and discover content by speaking directly to the platform, across languages.
Powered by OpenAI APIs, the new voice and text interface will allow users to navigate JioHotstar’s streaming catalogue through natural, multilingual conversations. To do so, it will use ‘Multilingual Cognitive Search’ to replace scrolling with a more intuitive, human-centered discovery experience. With this upgrade, viewers will be able to express their intent, mood or context conversationally and receive context-aware recommendations in real time.
For instance, if a couple wants to stream rom-coms on Valentine’s Day, instead of searching for the best ones, they could just ask the platform: “Suggest 5 best rom-coms to watch on Valentine’s Day”, and they will have suitable options to choose from in a few seconds.
The feature will also expand to live sports on JioHotstar, allowing users to explore key moments, scores, player highlights, and other real-time updates through natural, conversational interactions.
Voice-based AI assistants like Siri and Amazon Alexa have already become increasingly prevalent in India, driven by widespread smartphone adoption, affordable data, and the growing use of smart home devices. According to Amazon, devices with Alexa (like Echo smart speakers) have been purchased by customers from across 99 percent of pin codes in India, in the six years since it was launched in the country.
Millions of users in India rely on these assistants for everyday tasks such as setting reminders, making calls, sending messages, checking the weather, playing music, and controlling connected appliances. Their support for Indian English accents and multiple regional languages has improved accessibility, enabling users across urban and semi-urban markets to interact with technology more naturally.
India’s voice-based AI ecosystem is also advancing quickly, with assistants increasingly designed to understand regional languages and diverse accents. Companies such as CoRover’s BharatGPT (supporting 14+ languages), Gnani.ai, and Haptik are driving adoption across customer support, sales, and multilingual engagement use cases. Alongside them, specialised players like Bolna.ai and Sarvam AI are building sophisticated natural language processing (NLP) capabilities tailored specifically for Indian accents and 'Hinglish' interactions.
Speaking about the partnership, Uday Shankar, vice chairman of JioStar, said, “As a tech-native, user-first platform, JioStar is embedding AI at the very core of the user experience. Our partnership with OpenAI will allow viewers to discover, engage with, and even curate content simply using their voice. This is a fundamental reimagining of the entertainment experience; one that anticipates culture and feels deeply personal to every viewer.”
Fidji Simo, CEO, applications, OpenAI added: “Traditionally, entertainment is a one-way experience where you passively consume content—AI completely changes that dynamic. Through our partnership with JioHotstar, we’re bringing personalised AI directly into entertainment and live sports, turning every moment into an opportunity for deeper engagement. Viewers can move seamlessly from watching to asking, from curiosity to context, and from exploration to recommendation in ways that feel natural, personal and immediately useful.”
Disclaimer: Network18, the publisher of Forbes India, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
First Published: Feb 20, 2026, 13:53
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