According to a Netflix spokesperson, “AI Discover is powered by a new intelligence layer we’ve been building that responds to what members tell us in real time and keeps learning.” Passing by on what an “intelligence layer” is for the moment, the statement continues in not at all creepy techno come-on speak, “We can understand what [subscribers] are in the mood for right now, respond to what they ask, and open up new paths to discover beyond the ones that we present are predefined. What we’re most excited about is how it feels to use. Tell us what you’re after, and the experience adjusts.”
Basically, the new feature is Netflix’s latest attempt to tailor recommendations to its viewers past viewing habits, something the streamer has struggled to master over 20-plus years of video store-destroying expansion. Netflix had been utilizing Open AI for its basic search algorithm, but another spokesperson promises that the Netflix-developed AI Discover is much better at really getting inside viewers heads, noting, “Our goal is to reimagine Discover so that over time every member’s experience feels more personal, effortless and in tune with what they want.”
Netflix users should be on the lookout for a new “Discover” tab at the top of their home screens, helpfully marked by a pulsing diamond shape to lure them in. Once in the AI Discover landscape, a “carousel” of themes will be presented (“Scare Me” is presented as one example) with viewers having the opportunity to fine-tune their recommendations by interacting with their throbbing new virtual pal. (The THR article captures an AI Discover screen asking “Give me a moment while I find your next obsession,” which is, again, not creepy at all.)
According to Netflix, the service will at first only include the streamer’s TV offerings, and not movies. (And sadly, AI Discover will not be used to deliver viewer feedback about, for example, which of their promising new shows should be saved from premature cancellation.) Or viewers could try and track down their former favorite video clerks for recommendations—Netflix made sure they’ve got plenty of time on their hands.
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