- Netflix is redesigning your TV homepage
- Generative AI is entering the search space
- There’ll also be some vertical video for mobile
The Netflix you see on your TV today was built for streaming movies and TV shows, and for more than a dozen years, that’s been enough.
Now, though, the platform is not only overloaded with hard-to-find content, it’s also host to games and, increasingly, buzzy and highly-watched live events like NFL games and boxing matches between aging legends and annoying social media stars.
The Netflix of old is no longer purpose-built for the task – but that’s changing today with the introduction of Netflix’s most radical home screen update yet.
After two years of design work, months of development, and time testing internally and with some customers, Netflix is ready to, as Netflix Chief Product Officer Eunice Kemp described it, take “a giant leap forward.”
Kemp told us the new Netflix interface is more flexible, intuitive, responsive, and elevated – and yes, those initials spell ‘FIRE’. Subtlety has never been Netflix’s thing.
Describing the interface as “a more flexible canvas,” Kemp said the new look offers better support for the aforementioned live events, so you know better when to tune in to “catch the action the moment that it happens”. The real-time updates might also help with Netflix gaming, letting people join the action “at exactly the right time.”
Netflix has a multi-layered plan for helping users find the right content. “Our members do a lot of eye gymnastics when they’re scrolling down and right and back and forth between rows and to title details on the homepage,” said Kemp.
The visual update seeks to put streaming decision-making content front and center. For example, you’ll see ‘Emmy Winner’ or ‘Number One in TV Shows’ overlayed on top of the title image.
There’s also been some re-sorting of screen elements, such as moving shortcuts for Search and My Lists so they’re more visible. Some users might balk at Netflix, which tops our list of the best streaming services, moving classic interface elements, but Netflix told us the feedback it’s gotten thus far is all positive.
A touch of AI
Netflix already uses machine language and AI to suggest the next best streaming experience for you based on your previous viewing, but this update takes AI use to the next level.
Arguably the biggest change, and one that might significantly shorten your next hunt for a movie or show, is the introduction of Generative AI in search. Based on OpenAI‘s Large Language Model (LLM), the new search feature will let you ask natural-language questions.
Netflix’s Chief Technology Officer, Elizabeth Stone, said conversational phrases like “I want something scary but not too scary and also maybe a bit funny but not like ‘ha ha’ funny” will now yield useful results. Stone told us Netflix fused OpenAI’s baseline model capabilities with Netflix’s own context about members.
Even without generative AI, Netflix is improving how the platform recommends fresh streaming content. Responsive recommendations will pick up trailers you’re watching and searches you’re making to refine the recommendations you see on the fly.
“For example, let’s say you give Wednesday a thumbs-up. A few rows down, you may see similar titles to Wednesday, or if you’re searching for Rom Coms and Glen Powell, we’ll subtly adapt your homepage to show you more titles that are related to both,” said Stone.
Netflix is also making some changes to its mobile experience, in particular, the introduction of vertical videos. No, this is not Netflix turning into a social video app; it’s just a recognition that this is how people like to consume video on their phones. The videos will be trailers for Netflix shows and movies, and you can watch and scroll, or watch, tap, and open the show in the full Netflix experience.
While the vertical videos are rolling out “in the coming weeks,” the TV interface updates are arriving now globally.
All in all, this may be Netflix’s most significant interface update to date. “Our redesigned TV homepage is simpler, more intuitive, and better represents the breadth of entertainment on Netflix today,” said Kemp.
What do you think of your new Netflix home page? Is it an improvement, or do you prefer the old look? Let us know in the comments below.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
