The winner receives a large cash prize (primarily paid over a period of time), and since the third season, a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip.

In 2013, a book titled Inside AGT: The Untold Stories of America's Got Talent was released, providing a description of the seasons, contestants, judges and production techniques of the show.

The network favored the concept, and green-lit production of a pilot episode to test out the format, with Cowell forming a panel consisting of himself and two other judges (including tabloid journalist Piers Morgan).

Filming for each season begins when the Judges' Auditions are taking place, with the show's presenter standing in the wings of each venue's stage to interview, and give personal commentary on a participant's performance.

Both Klum and Mel B decided to leave America's Got Talent due to other commitments that year, leading to actress Gabrielle Union and dancer Julianne Hough replacing them, joining Mandel and Cowell on the judging panel.

The first season was hosted by Regis Philbin, with the judging panel consisting of actor David Hasselhoff, singer Brandy Norwood and journalist Piers Morgan.

[41] Audition were held between January and April, at venues in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, Orlando, Portland (Oregon), and Philadelphia.

[44] Prior to filming taking place, Morgan departed from America's Got Talent after the conclusion of the sixth season (despite signing a three-year contract with the program in July 2010),[45] due to other commitments he had at that time.

[54] This season was won by martial arts dancer/mime Kenichi Ebina, becoming the first foreign act to win America's Got Talent, with stand-up comedian Taylor Williamson coming in second, and singer/guitarist Jimmy Rose placed third.

[56] For this season only, a third-party program was involved in the audition process: one quarter-final place in the competition was offered exclusively by The Today Show via their website, with the top three picked from those that entered competing against each other to be part of America's Got Talent that year.

[54][59] A special "extreme" audition session was held within Pomona, California (performed on an outdoor stage), for participants with acts considered too dangerous to be conducted within an indoor studio set.

[72] Open auditions were held in late 2016 to early 2017, within Chicago, Austin, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, San Diego, New York, Charleston, Memphis and Los Angeles.

On February 13, 2017, Nick Cannon resigned from hosting America's Got Talent, following a dispute between himself and NBC concerning remarks he had made during his Showtime comedy special Stand Up, Don't Shoot.

[75] This season is notable for the death of American physician Brandon Rogers (who died in an automobile accident on June 11, 2017), shortly after securing his place on America's Got Talent during the audition's stage.

[80][81] Open auditions were held in late 2017 until early 2018, within Orlando, Cincinnati, Savannah, Milwaukee, Houston, Las Vegas, New York, Nashville and Los Angeles.

[83] A minor change was made to the format of the Judge Cuts in terms of the number of participants in this stage from the auditions being reduced to seventy-two, with about eighteen performing each week.

[98] The season was won by spoken word poet Brandon Leake, with country duo Broken Roots coming in second, and singer Cristina Rae placing third.

[106] This season was won by dog tricks act Adrian Stoica and Hurricane, with magician Anna DeGuzman coming in second, and dance group Murmuration placing third.

[110] This season was won by singer Richard Goodall, with dog tricks act Roni Sagi & Rhythm coming in second, and drone precision group Sky Elements placing third.

[18] In 2009, production staff opted for creating a post-show made up of the best finalists from that year's competition, and conducted over a ten-week run between October and January at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

It was remade into a 25-city tour that began at the Caesars Palace Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, and concluded at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando.

[114] The live show was put into hiatus following its 2010 run, and resumed in 2012 with a new host and performances from the finalists of the seventh season: Olate Dogs, Spencer Horsman, Joe Castillo, Lightwire Theater, David Garibaldi and his CMYK's, Jarrett and Raja, and Tom Cotter.

In 2013, another tour was scheduled consisting of the best acts from the eighth season: Kenichi Ebina, and finalists Collins Key, Jimmy Rose, Taylor Williamson, Cami Bradley, The KriStef Brothers, and Tone the Chiefrocca.

Performances from the top acts from the tenth season included winner Paul Zerdin, runner-up Drew Lynch, and fan favorite Piff the Magic Dragon.

[116] In 2017, another four shows were scheduled at the same venue, and featured performances by the top acts of the twelfth season's final: Darci Lynne, Angelica Hale, Light Balance and Preacher Lawson.

[117] In 2018, three new shows were scheduled at a new venue in Las Vegas, and featured the top acts from the thirteenth season: Shin Lim, Samuel J. Comroe, Courtney Hadwin, Vicki Barbolak and Duo Transcend.

Among those involved were Grace VanderWaal, Jackie Evancho, Andra Day, Penn & Teller, Pentatonix, Terry Fator, Mat Franco, Piff the Magic Dragon, Olate Dogs, Professor Splash and Jon Dorenbos (as well as the judges from the season 11).

[125] Originally planned for a mid-season summer 2021 debut,[126] filming for the series occurred at the Atlanta Motor Speedway between September 27 and October 20, 2021,[127][128] and wrapped in early January 2022.

[129] On October 1, 2021, main series host Terry Crews was announced to continue the role in the spin-off, with former WWE wrestler Nikki Bella and motorsports competitor Travis Pastrana to join Cowell as judges.

The series, with judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel as well as host Terry Crews, began production in October 2022,[132] and premiered on January 2, 2023.