Netflix Tests AI Discover Tab To Help Viewers Choose What To Watch
The new TV-app tab offers theme-based recommendations that viewers can refine, starting with English-language Netflix users on supported TVs in the US.
Netflix is testing an AI-powered Discover tab in its TV app to help viewers find a show or movie without scrolling through titles. The feature is beginning to roll out to people using Netflix in English on supported TVs in the US, according to Engadget and TechCrunch. Netflix says it will use the tab to test ways of finding content that could eventually become part of the main service.
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How AI Discover works
The first feature in the tab presents themes that viewers can choose from, each accompanied by a clip from a relevant show or movie. TechCrunch reports that the themes can reflect a viewer’s mood, preferences or available time, with options such as “something light,” “scare me,” “family movie night” and “quick watches.” Engadget says themes may also draw on recent viewing or highlight new and popular titles.
After selecting a theme, viewers see matching recommendations and can narrow their search with more specific themes. They can also ask for a different set of options. TechCrunch says a “Tune Your Recommendations” control lets viewers indicate which suggestions they like or exclude titles they do not want recommended again. Titles can also be added to My List. On accounts with access, the Discover tab appears in the TV app’s top navigation bar with a red gem icon; TechCrunch says it also carries a “New” label.
A test for future features
Netflix describes AI Discover as a place to experiment rather than a finished replacement for its existing recommendations. According to TechCrunch, the company plans to use viewer feedback to decide which ideas to retain or improve before adding them to the main Netflix experience. Netflix says the feature runs on a new intelligence layer that responds to what members tell it in real time and continues to learn.
The company plans to make the tab available to more users in the coming weeks, though the reports do not give a schedule for other languages or countries. Engadget reports that AI Discover will not appear on kids profiles, citing Variety.
Netflix’s continuing search for better discovery
The test addresses a familiar problem: choosing something to watch can take longer than viewers want. TechCrunch characterizes the tab as an effort to make Netflix’s growing library easier to navigate through more personalized discovery. Engadget notes that Netflix has tried other approaches over the years, including shuffle play and a test of an OpenAI-powered chatbot during a redesign last year. For now, AI Discover’s first experiment centers on giving viewers themes they can adjust as they search.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.