Netflix has unveiled a major revamp of its TV and mobile interface, with updates designed to make content discovery faster, more intuitive, and more relevant to individual viewers.
One of the standout features in this rollout is a new conversational search tool powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Currently being tested as an opt-in beta on iOS, the tool allows users to search using natural phrases such as “I want something funny and upbeat.” This is a part of Netflix’s broader effort to make its platform more responsive to how people actually talk and think about entertainment.
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The redesigned TV homepage includes a cleaner layout, more visible shortcuts, and smarter recommendations. Labels like “Emmy Award Winner” or “#1 in TV Shows” will now appear more prominently to help users decide quickly what to watch. Common features such as Search and My List, previously hidden on the left-hand menu, have been moved to the top of the screen for easier access.
Netflix is also testing a vertical mobile feed filled with vertical short clips from its shows and films. The feature is designed to make discovery more engaging and immediate. Users can tap to watch the full title, add it to their list, or share it with friends.
The update was introduced by chief product officer Eunice Kim and chief technology officer Elizabeth Stone, who noted Netflix’s ongoing commitment to marrying powerful technology with compelling content. “The new Netflix TV experience is still the one you know and love, just better,” said Kim.
“When we first started thinking about this project, we wanted to create an experience that was more flexible for our broad entertainment offerings, more intuitive and responsive to our members’ needs, and capable of elevating the most thrilling moments on Netflix,” Kim explained.
“What’s most exciting to me is how our new TV experience gives us the ability to evolve and innovate more easily going forward. That’s how we’re going to make the Netflix people know even better. And it’s how we’ll continue to connect them with even more shows, movies and games they’ll love,” said Stone.
The updates will begin rolling out to members worldwide over the coming weeks. According to Tech Crunchthe gen-AI search tool feature is set to roll out this week to iOS iPhone users as an opt-in beta. Some subscribers in Australia and New Zealand already have access to the feature as reported by Bloomberg last month.
Netflix’s streaming competitors are also leveraging gen-AI for its search functions. For example, Amazon launched an AI-enhanced voice search feature for Fire TV, which helps users discover their next favourite show. Using Alexa, viewers can search for TV shows and movies using natural prompts and phrases, or by topic, genre, plot, character, actor, and even by quote. This includes prompts such as “Alexa, show me movies based on video games.”
Meanwhile, Tubi, a streaming service in the United States, unveiled its AI-powered recommendation tool, named Rabbit AI, at the end of 2023, aimed at cutting down the time users take to find something to watch. During its release, the mobile feature was powered by ChatGPT-4 and allows viewers to go beyond simple keyword searches and ask questions such as “shark movies that are funny” to receive a list of relevant titles.
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