Opinion: The Vertical Pivot: Why Streaming Giants are Mimicking TikTok to Solve the Discovery Crisis
AI-generated image · US National Wire
HBO Max joins Netflix, Disney+, and Peacock in a race to capture modern audiences accustomed to short-form feeds, but a UI shift doesn't shrink a bloated library.
Streaming platforms are facing a fundamental discovery crisis. As content libraries grow increasingly bloated, the friction of finding a single title to watch has become a primary pain point for users. In response, the industry is pivoting toward a TikTok-style interface, betting that vertical video is the only way to capture the attention of modern audiences accustomed to Instagram Reels and short-form feeds.
Warner Bros. Discovery is the latest to lean into this trend. As reported by TechCrunch and The Verge, HBO Max is launching "HBO Max Shorts," a vertical video feed accessible via a bottom navigation menu icon. The feed surfaces trailers, clips, and bonus content, allowing users to jump directly into a movie or show or save the title to a watch list. While this looks like a simple UI update, it is a calculated attempt to mirror the consumption habits of Gen Z.
According to The Verge, the mechanism behind these shorts is a hybrid of machine learning and human curation. Warner Bros. Discovery uses an in-house AI tool that analyzes scene-level metadata across thousands of hours of content to suggest high-impact, compelling scenes. However, the final selection rests with HBO Max editors, who decide which clips best represent the stories and "jaw-dropping moments" the service wants to highlight.
HBO Max is not alone in this gamble. TechCrunch notes that Netflix, Disney+, and Peacock have already implemented similar vertical video feeds to surface content. The industry is essentially attempting to solve a volume problem—too much content to browse—by narrowing the window of discovery to a series of algorithmically delivered, bite-sized hooks based on a user's watch history.
Beyond the vertical feed, the platforms are attempting to replace traditional search bars with conversational interfaces. TechCrunch reports that HBO Max is testing an experimental conversational search experience for select Android users in the U.S., using natural language understanding to handle queries like "dysfunctional family drama" or "best movie for a girls night in." While Engadget notes that Warner Bros. Discovery avoided using the term "AI" in some descriptions of this feature—opting instead for "natural language understanding and semantic search"—TechCrunch confirms the feature is AI-powered. This mirrors a similar AI-powered search experience launched by Netflix last year and Amazon's AI voice search on Fire TVs.
Ultimately, these pivots represent a "hail mary" for engagement. By transforming the discovery process into a lean-back, algorithmic experience, streaming giants hope to reduce the cognitive load of their massive libraries. However, the core issue remains: the libraries are still bloated. Changing the way users *find* the content doesn't change the fact that the volume of titles is becoming overwhelming.
Currently, the HBO Max Shorts feed is being tested with select iOS users in the U.S., while the conversational search is available to select Android users. Warner Bros. Discovery intends to expand both features to more devices and markets, with plans to eventually incorporate sports content into the Shorts feed.