Roku Hid Some Good News in an AI Update No One Wants

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.

It's 2025, so every piece of tech needs to have some kind of AI integration—even Roku, apparently. On Wednesday, Roku announced a number of new features and changes coming to its many streaming devices, but headlines zeroed in on one announcement in particular: the company's new AI assistant. The assistant, which will be a part of the existing Roku Voice feature, lets you ask the streaming device questions about shows and movies, including the characters and actors that are in them. You could ask the assistant whether a particular movie is appropriate for kids, or recommendations for other movies that feature the actor starring in the one you're watching.

The company says Roku Voice is powered by both "in-house and commercial generative AI and LLM technology." That seems to indicate that some of the processing here is designed by Roku's own AI tech, while the rest is outsourced to at least one other company. As such, you should assume your AI requests are not private, and may be fed through both Roku and third-party servers. When CNET reached out for clarification around user privacy, a spokesperson for the company simply said "We follow Roku's published privacy policy and viewer settings." The policy has not been updated yet to reflect the AI technology, however.

Maybe Roku's assistant will turn out to be a useful tool, but even as someone without a Roku device, it's not something I'd be interested in. If I want to know whether a piece of content is appropriate for kids, I wouldn't trust an AI summary to tell me—especially given the frequency for AI models to just make things up. Personally, I'd watch the content myself first—or, at the very least, do my own research. The internet is right there, after all. It's about as fast to look up an actor's IMDB page to see other movies they've starred in, complete with user reviews, synopsis, and—wouldn't you know—even parental recommendations, as it is to ask an AI assistant the same questions.

Roku has other interesting updates

The thing is, the AI assistant is the least interesting update the company has for customers going forward. Scanning the news, the thing that stood out to me most was the expansion of support for Bluetooth headphones for more devices. Now, Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick Plus users can connect their wireless headphones directly to their Roku devices, rather than pairing through the app. This was something previously exclusive to larger Roku devices as Roku TVs. Whether you live with other people, and want to watch your content without disturbing them, or prefer the experience of watching shows and movies through your headphones as opposed to relying on your TV's speakers, having the option to connect to Bluetooth headphones for streaming is such a plus.

There are other changes coming as well. When you watch trailers on a Roku device, you'll see a new "What to watch" option, which can take you to different apps and services that host the show or movie. The search bar is also coming to What to Watch and Live TV Zone, while Live TV Channel Guide will get the search bar sometime in the near future. Even the mobile app is getting a refresh. Now, when you swipe up, you'll see options for Find My Remote, closed captions, the sleep timer, and trivia. In addition, you'll be able to rate content with either like or dislike options.

Finally, Roku is adding support for live sport scores that pop up on title cards for each game. You can also set reminders to alert you when certain sports matches are starting.

View the full article