HBO Max is the latest streaming platform to roll out a TikTok-style vertical short-form feed and an AI Search experience to help users quickly find their next watch.
“HBO Max Shorts” will initially be limited to iOS users in the US. You can tap the new Shorts icon, next to the Home tab, to access the feed, which will feature trailers, clips, and bonus content based on your viewing history and preferences.
If a clip prompts you to watch the show, you can tap the episode number to start watching or add it to your My List to watch later. The clips are selected by HBO Max editors, who pick from a pool of videos gathered by a built-in AI tool. “Once the tool has suggested these clips, HBO Max editors decide which best represent the stories viewers love and capture jaw dropping moments, pivotal plot twists, and visually stunning sequences,” Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO’s parent company, said in a press release.
In the future, HBO Max Shorts will include sports content and expand to more devices and markets, the company added. ESPN, Disney+, Prime Video, and Netflix already have similar vertical video feeds.
How to Use Natural Language Search on HBO Max #
Alongside the new video feed, WBD announced an experimental AI search experience called “Ask HBO Max.” The idea is to let users describe what they’d like to watch in plain language. They could, for example, use terms like “in the mood for a comedy,” “dysfunctional family drama,” or “best movie for a girls night in,” and find relevant results.
The feature is limited to Android users aged 18 and older at launch and can be accessed from the search page. As with HBO Max Shorts, Ask HBO Max will eventually expand to more devices and markets, WBD said.
The parent company is currently in the middle of a controversial merger. After Paramount-Skydance agreed to take over the company earlier this year, 12 states challenged the merger on antitrust grounds. Last week, Paramount and WBD decided to delay the merger until June 1, 2027, or five days after a court reaches a decision on the lawsuit.