Key Points
- Netflix has introduced AI Discover, an experimental feature that uses artificial intelligence to help subscribers find movies and television shows.
- The feature allows viewers to browse recommendations based on moods, viewing preferences, available time and other themes.
- Subscribers can refine recommendations, request different suggestions and exclude individual titles from future results.
Netflix is testing a new artificial intelligence-powered discovery feature that allows subscribers to find movies and television shows based on their moods, viewing preferences and available time.
The feature, called AI Discover, appears as a separate tab within Netflix’s television application and is initially available to a limited group of subscribers in the United States.
Rather than relying exclusively on recommendations generated from viewing history, AI Discover allows users to explore programming through themes that describe what they want to watch. Examples include “Something Light,” “Scare Me,” “Family Movie Night” and “Quick Watches,” along with categories based on popular programming and recent viewing activity.
Each theme includes a preview clip from a movie or television series. Selecting a theme generates related recommendations, which viewers can narrow further through additional categories. Subscribers can also select “Something Different” to receive another group of suggestions.
Users can keep generating suggestions from the feature by pressing “Tune Your Recommendation,” an option that exists alongside Play and My List on a user’s home screen. Netflix said the feature uses artificial intelligence to generate themes and adjust recommendations in response to viewer feedback; the technology is designed to respond to user preferences in real time, rather than relying solely on previously collected viewing data.
Netflix described AI Discover as an experimental environment for testing new content discovery features, with subscriber engagement and feedback helping determine which tools may eventually become part of its broader streaming interface.
“Think of AI Discover as our test kitchen: we’re trying out new recipes for discovery, and your use and feedback help us decide which ones to keep, improve, or serve up next,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a blog post last week. “Some may even make their way into the main Netflix experience.”
The new Discover tool is available to U.S.-based Netflix subscribers who watch content in English; eligible users will see a Discover tab with a red gem icon and a New label in the application’s smart TV navigation menu.
Netflix said it expects to expand availability gradually over the coming weeks but did not provide a specific timetable for a wider release.
