Netflix is pairing up with OpenAI on a new search function, looking to use AI to better understand your exact viewing intentions.
This is according to a report from Bloomberg which stated the streaming giant is looking into a better search ability. This could look into more specific terms, such as searching by moods.
Viewers would also be able to use the new search to make queries that “go well beyond genres or actors’ names” according to Blomberg. For now, this is an opt-in feature and is only available to select users in Australia and New Zealand and only on iOS devices.
This was confirmed in an interview from The Verge with Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou who said the test will expand to the U.S. “in the coming weeks and months”.
She went on to say that there are no current plans for this to roll out past iOS.
While Netflix already uses AI, most noticeably to recommend content and build an algorithm around each user, this will be the biggest AI introduction from the streaming brand in a very long time.
It is just one of many examples of large companies partnering up with OpenAI and other AI giants to develop their platforms further.
Netflix has previously made it clear that while it is looking into developments in the AI space, it doesn’t intend to replace actors or filmmakers or use AI to do jobs that humans can do. The company's co-CEO Ted Sarandos has gone on record to say that AI won’t replace creative personnel like screenwriters. Back in 2023, many writers and actors went on strike over the potential use of AI in the creation of TV and movies.
