Netflix is advancing its search and content discovery features by leveraging generative AI technologies.
Highlights
The company aims to make finding movies and TV shows more intuitive, personalized, and efficient, addressing long-standing challenges in content visibility across its extensive catalog.
During Netflix’s Q1 earnings call, co-CEO Greg Peters introduced the concept of “interactive search” powered by generative AI, which is currently in development.
According to Peters, a significant portion of Netflix’s library remains underutilized. The company estimates that even its most widely discussed titles account for just 1% of total platform traffic.
The remaining 99%—which includes a large volume of lesser-known, high-quality content—often remains unnoticed due to limitations in traditional discovery mechanisms. Improving this experience has become a strategic focus for the company.
“We think there is more room to improve the discovery and recommendation experience,” Peters said. “This will help deliver more value to members and enable broader exposure for our titles.”
Early Testing Underway
Initial trials of the new AI-powered search feature began earlier this month in Australia and New Zealand. These tests involve a small group of users and are being conducted in collaboration with OpenAI, whose technology powers the underlying generative systems.
The feedback collected from this phase is expected to guide refinements before a broader rollout, which may occur later this year.
AI-Based Search Focused on Mood and Context
Unlike traditional search functions based on genre, actor, or title, Netflix’s new AI tool introduces mood- and context-based search capabilities.
Users can input prompts like “a heartwarming drama for a rainy day” or “a fast-paced thriller with a strong female lead.” This approach aims to align recommendations more closely with user preferences and viewing contexts.
This feature is currently in an opt-in beta for selected iOS users in Australia and New Zealand. The company has indicated plans to expand testing to the United States in the near future.
A Netflix spokesperson described this as a “learn and listen” phase, emphasizing the company’s intent to refine the experience based on real-world user feedback.
Integration with OpenAI Technologies
The new AI features are powered by OpenAI’s generative models, adding a layer of advanced language understanding and context-awareness to the search experience.
This collaboration represents a significant step in Netflix’s efforts to offer a more dynamic and personalized interface for its users.
Redesigned Homepage for Better Navigation
Alongside the AI developments, Netflix is testing a major redesign of its TV app homepage, marking the platform’s first major UI overhaul in more than a decade.
The updated design replaces static content tiles with interactive boxes that expand to display detailed information such as plot summaries, episode counts, release years, and genre classifications.
This design is intended to work in tandem with the AI search tools, streamlining content navigation and reducing friction in the discovery process.
Broader Content Discovery Strategy
Greg Peters reiterated the importance of improving discovery systems, pointing to internal data showing that most user engagement centers around a small subset of available content.
By enhancing both recommendation accuracy and user navigation, Netflix aims to increase visibility for more titles across its library and deliver a richer viewing experience.
Continued Investment
These advancements in AI and user interface are taking place as Netflix reports strong financial results. The company posted $10.54 billion in revenue for Q1, reflecting a 12.5% year-over-year increase.
