The streaming service is testing mood-based themes and real-time tuning tools with a select group of viewers in the United States.
Netflix began testing an artificial intelligence recommendation tool called AI Discover on its television app on Tuesday, rolling it out to a limited group of subscribers in the United States CNET reported. The feature aims to curb aimless scrolling by generating viewing options around specific moods, themes, and viewing habits Engadget reported.
How the feature works
Subscribers who have access to the tool will find a clickable Discover tab with a red gem icon at the top of their television app screen, marked as new. Selecting the tab brings up a set of themes paired with a trailer, show art, or a video clip from a movie or series. The options can center on who is watching, such as a family movie night, or on a specific mood, such as light-hearted comedies or a prompt to scare the viewer.
Other themes surface titles tailored for a solo movie night, romance stories described as swoon-worthy, new or popular releases, or movies that won’t take up an entire evening. The catalog featured in the tool mixes original productions from Netflix with licensed programming. Underneath each selection, viewers can click on subcategory buttons, such as workplace comedies or offbeat stories, to narrow the results further. Netflix builds these buttons using a combination of artificial intelligence, subscriber preferences, and what the service predicts a viewer will want to watch next. Users can also refresh the list of themes or save titles directly to their personal watchlist.
Training the recommendation tool
Viewers can teach the system what they like by clicking a button labeled “Tune Your Recommendations.” The tool gives users two choices: keep recommending similar programming, or stop recommending the title. If a viewer chooses not to see a title again, Netflix asks whether that is because they already watched it or because they aren’t interested.
That feedback helps train the tool to adapt to individual viewing habits and prevents unwanted titles from returning to the screen. According to Netflix, “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.” The company also said, “AI helps create the themes you see, and we’ll explain your results along the way.”
Availability and next steps
The test is running in English on supported televisions for selected accounts in the United States. Subscribers cannot manually opt in or out of the test group, though those who receive it can choose to skip the tab entirely. The feature won’t appear on kids profiles, according to Variety.
Netflix executives previously discussed plans for artificial intelligence recommendations during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. The streaming service views the tab as a testbed for tools that could eventually become part of its core platform. Subscriber reactions during the feedback period will help determine how the feature operates if it launches more broadly, and Netflix plans to expand access to additional customers in the coming weeks.
Earlier search and discovery experiments
The new tool follows several previous efforts by Netflix to help users find programming faster. In May 2025, the company launched beta tests of an artificial intelligence search feature in its mobile application. That tool allowed users to type conversational phrases, such as asking for something scary but also funny, to immediately pull up recommendations from the library.
Other discovery tests have included a shuffle play option introduced several years ago and an OpenAI-powered chatbot tested alongside a platform redesign last year. More than a decade ago, the service also tested an automated recommendation feature known as Max.
