Avail Launches AI Summarization Tool to Assist Hollywood Executives in Managing Script Coverage Effortlessly

Avail is addressing a significant challenge in the film and TV development process: script coverage. This innovative tool, powered by ChatGPT, can quickly summarize scripts and books, generating detailed summaries, loglines, synopses, character breakdowns, and tonal assessments in minutes.

Additionally, Avail features a Q&A assistant designed for production companies and talent agencies to facilitate brainstorming and answer content-related inquiries. It can provide tailored recommendations of actors for specific roles and draw comparisons to existing movies and TV shows.

The company recently launched its open beta, offering an entry-level subscription at $250 per month, which includes four reports and a 30-day free trial. Enterprise pricing is available based on the number of credits a company requires.

For many script readers, executives, and assistants, reading and annotating a script can consume over two hours. Managing other responsibilities while facing an overflowing inbox of lengthy 100-page scripts can be overwhelming. “For executives tasked with deciding how to allocate their company’s resources towards content, it’s challenging to keep up with the sheer volume of submissions,” said Avail co-founder and CEO Chris Giliberti during a recent interview. “Missing out on a potential hit could result in significant financial repercussions.”

While relying solely on Avail or any AI summarization tool is not advised, it serves as a valuable time-saving solution. In a trial, Avail managed to summarize a 45-page document in less than five minutes.

Although it might seem unconventional for a company to introduce AI tools to Hollywood at this time—just three months after a writers' strike focused on AI issues—their offerings are not intended to replace human creators. The new agreement between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) clearly states that AI cannot be utilized to write or rewrite scripts without a writer's permission. “We acknowledge the valid concerns raised by the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild. The productivity tools we are developing aim to enhance efficiency, not displace jobs,” Giliberti clarified.

Built on the ChatGPT-4 model, Avail incorporates a proprietary processing layer to ensure “reliable” coverage of lower-quality documents, as well as to produce hallucination-free summaries. To train its AI, Avail utilized public domain works, such as “The Count of Monte Cristo,” and is committed to handling creative material responsibly.

Amidst ongoing lawsuits accusing AI companies of copyright violations, Giliberti emphasized Avail's dedication to data privacy. “Your data privacy is our top priority… Our team does not train our AI on any of your uploaded content or prompts, ensuring your material remains confidential.”

Giliberti, the company co-founder, previously led Gimlet Pictures, the film and TV division of Spotify-owned Gimlet Media, and co-founded Zestworld, an artist-centric comics platform. The founding team also includes John Liu, Zestworld co-founder and former Google product manager.

To date, Avail has raised $11.8 million in funding from investors like Seven Seven Six, General Catalyst, and Advancit Capital.

Looking ahead, Avail plans to introduce team collaboration features, allowing colleagues to work on documents simultaneously. Furthermore, Giliberti shared that the company is collaborating with a production firm to develop custom models aimed at addressing “production, engineering, and planning”—critical pain points in Hollywood.

Filmustage utilizes AI to streamline film script breakdowns and develop shooting schedules, demonstrating the growing impact of AI in media and entertainment.