Crunchyroll CEO Rahul Purini has spoken about the company’s attitude towards AI in the creative process. He shares that it’s down to the creators to use whatever technology they want, but for Crunchyroll, it doesn’t intend to use AI in its own creative processes of subtitling or dubbing.
Asked by Radio Times about the difficulty of navigating AI use, Purini said, “I would say it’s not that difficult! We are very clear in terms of what we will and will not do. We have always said creator authenticity is really important for us. We want to make sure creators get to tell the stories the way they want to tell them, whatever technology they want to use, but it is the creator intent.”
“They get to tell the story, and we want to be authentic to their storytelling, and so that’s why we’re not using AI in our creative process – whether it’s subtitling or dubbing.” As Purini has said previously, he added that AI is being explored for recommendations and personalization.
ALSO READ:
Daemons of The Shadow Realm Interview: Ben Stegmair & Molly Zhang on Voicing Yuru & Asa
Crunchyroll’s Evolving Attitude Towards AI Finds Its Resting Place
This is the clearest look into Crunchyroll‘s attitude, and settles prior comments open to interpretation. Purini previously told Forbes in 2025 that it wasn’t considering AI in the creative process, including voice actors, and was not touching on the content, but didn’t respond to a press query about whether this included subtitling or closed captioning. In 2024, Purini had previously said that Crunchyroll had been exploring AI for subtitling, while “not so much yet” for dubbing:
“AI is definitely something that we think about at a lot of different workflows within the organization. Right now, one of the areas we are very focused on testing is our subtitling and closed captioning, where we go from speech to text and how do we improve and optimize our processes where we can get the subtitles done in various languages across the world faster so that we can launch as close to the Japanese release as possible. So that’s definitely an area where we are focused on” (Purini to The Verge).
On dubbing, he had said that since dubs weren’t direct translations but adapted dubs, there’s a creative process with considerations around things like humor. Lip-syncing requirements posed a challenge to AI dubbing, with Purini adding, “So it’s definitely something that we are playing with. We don’t find the technology to be there yet, but obviously we’re also playing in other areas like personalization and discovery and how we can use generative AI in making that a better experience for our users.“
ALSO READ:
Sony Uses Machine Learning in Four Anime to Help Automate Process of Lip-Syncing
Purini’s words are now the clearest indication that Crunchyroll does not intend to oppose the use of AI in its animation production, clarifying that it’s leaving the technology considerations, which invariably include AI, to the creators. The company is among the most frequent investors in anime production committees and prides itself on its ability to connect Japanese creators to global audiences.
In a previous press query, Crunchyroll had been asked whether its commitment to no AI in the creative process encompassed production, and whether it could reasonably even control or audit this, given the distributed decision-making process of production committees and multi-level subcontracting. Meanwhile, its fellow companies of the Sony Group, including co-parent company Aniplex and sister companies A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks, are openly developing AI tools for anime production. Crunchyroll did not respond to this query.
ALSO READ:
Amazon Doubles Down on AI Dubs for Anime Despite Backlash: Creative Director Wanted (UPDATED)
While the company may oppose AI in subtitling, it’s worth noting that Crunchyroll does not subtitle all the anime on the platform. Crunchyroll streamed Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show in Spring 2025, which featured AI subtitles provided by a third-party vendor. Notoriously, they included the text “ChatGPT said: […]“.
In response to a press query, Crunchyroll had said that AI use violated its vendor agreement. It suggested that quality control was also the vendor’s responsibility and that it was investigating. It did not disclose the findings of its investigation, including how this hadn’t been spotted and what future changes would be implemented.
You can check out the rest of the interview for Purini’s quotes on AI, impactful anime series, titles he’s excited for, whether there’s any news on Solo Leveling, the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, KPop Demon Hunters‘ impact, and more.
Source: Radio Times
Participate In Discussions