When you think of Disney, think dazzling animation, unforgettable characters, and cinematic spectacle. Behind that magic right now, something equally transformative is unfolding: Disney quietly reworks its operating model around generative artificial intelligence. Not some flashy showpiece but a real strategic infusion of AI into the inner grain of how this company creates, engages, and scales business. The result could be a redefinition not only of Disney’s inner process but also of how audiences would interact with media itself.
At the heart of this pivot is a game-changing partnership with OpenAI, as Disney is investing billions and taking multi-year licenses that enable AI platforms such as OpenAI’s Sora and ChatGPT to tap into and generate content with some of its most iconic characters and many more inside rigid safety and rights guardrails. What makes this different from the wave of AI hype isn’t just that AI generates images or stories but how Disney has sewn these capabilities into its workflows and consumer experiences.
At the onset, Disney’s approach to AI was through pilot projects. Today, Disney’s approach to AI is more substantial, as AI will be placed where work occurs. Instead of AI being a spectator on the bench, it has been introduced through APIs to the existing systems of Disney. This is not just a matter of architectural approach, as Disney is not merely viewing AI as a novelty to be experimented with but instead using it as a glue that binds various departments together with an enhancement layer that adds to internal productivity, to engaging customers, and to creative innovation without upsetting the ways in which existing processes function.
One of the most public-facing developments that has come out of these developments is the ability to license Disney’s intellectual property for use in controlled environments to create new content using these IPs through generative means. As part of the OpenAI and Sora partnership, fans will be able to create their own little clips of videos and images using sanctioned Disney IP characters. What’s perhaps most surprising is that some of these creations will be able to appear on Disney+ itself in an unprecedented manner that starts to redefine the fan not simply as a viewer of content but as a producer in their own right.
It is important to note that Disney manages its intellectual property (IP) by not licensing the likenesses or voices of actors, and only a specific set of assets is allowed for use in content generation. Such measures are not meant to stifle inventions but to suppress risks that many media companies are grappling with in the “wild west” world of AI.
Investing in AI isn’t just an investment in technology; it’s an investment in business. The equity investment of multiple billions of dollars that Disney has made in partnership with OpenAI speaks of its belief that AI has the potential of impacting core levers of business, such as driving revenue growth through enhanced engagement on Disney+ platforms, driving reduced marginal costs of developing new versions of existing assets, and driving improvements in operational efficiency in functions ranging from marketing to operations.
Disney’s strategy shows a larger lesson regarding companies grappling with AI, where the secret isn’t in what it builds but where it builds it. Disney’s strategy, in contrast, views this form of AI as a horizontal service that is fully integrated into its overall approach.
As the media industry and the broader sector look on, Disney’s steps could very well serve as the benchmark of what’s required for the old-school industry leaders to adapt to the disruptor that AI stands to be. It’s not a question of automating the creative process but rather augmenting it responsibly on a mass scale.
Ultimately, the impact of the rewritten game plan for Disney is clear, as it’s a call to action to convert love for storytelling into dynamic business architecture that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to balance and enhance magic with untapped innovation.
