Netflix is testing AI search powered by OpenAI

In brief: OpenAI's technology is spreading far and wide. Soon, it will be used by Netflix, powering the streaming service's search function to help users discover shows and movies based on specific factors, including their moods. The feature will be tested in the US in the coming weeks and months, though it will only be available on iOS.

Netflix's feature, powered by OpenAI's technology, will go beyond the usual fare of allowing users to search for content on the platform by their titles, actors' names, or genres, writes Bloomberg.

The new search feature can, for example, surface content to match a person's mood, so typing in "Happy" might show comedies or feel-good titles, while "sad" could offer something along the lines of gritty dramas – though it's hard to imagine most people wanting to feel even sadder.

As it's powered by OpenAI's generative AI systems, it's likely that users will be able to search for content using natural language queries.

Typing the line, "I'm in a sad mood, recommend a movie to match this level of ennui" into ChatGPT offers suggestions that include Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Her, and Anomalisa, a stop-motion film about crippling loneliness and the fleeting nature of connection that is both existential and quietly brutal. Maybe don't watch that last one if you're already sad to the point of depression.

Netflix currently uses AI for some of its existing features, such as learning user preferences based on their history to recommend titles they're likely to watch and enjoy.

Netflix is reportedly testing the AI search feature among select users in Australia and New Zealand, giving them the option to use the tool on iOS.

Company spokesperson MoMo Zhou confirmed to The Verge that Bloomberg's story is accurate. Zhou said that the test will expand to the US in the coming weeks and months, and there aren't currently any plans for the feature to be used outside of iOS.

"It's early days for the feature and we're really in a learn and listen phase for this beta," Zhou says.

It was recently reported that the number of people using ChatGPT and other OpenAI products was closing in on one billion. CEO Sam Altman said around 10% of the world's population were users, which would be over 800 million people. The company has seen a recent uptick in use thanks to ChatGPT's updated image generator, which led to the flood of Studio Ghibli-style AI images.