Are Super AIggregators the Future of Streaming?
Imagine asking ChatGPT for a TV series, and it plays instantly.
Hey streamers, today I want to talk about the next step for AI search & discovery in streaming 👇
The idea is simple: AI shouldn’t just suggest what to watch, it should play it instantly.
This thought started with an article I wrote this summer about Netflix iOS search feature “What are you in the mood for?”. Then it grew after a coffee with
on Ranchet during IBC.And now I want to push it further.
What if the future of streaming search & discovery didn’t live inside Netflix, Disney+, or Prime Video… but inside LLMs like ChatGPT?
Today, I’ll show you how that future could look, using conceptual mockups 👇
Read on to learn about:
AI Search & Discovery: A nice-to-have feature inside streaming apps
Tomorrow: The rise of AIggregators that recommend and play
So What: Will AI increase platform fragmentation or solve it?
AI Search & Discovery: A nice-to-have feature inside streaming apps
Streaming services have made progress in helping us find content, but most of it still feels like old-school search.
Here’s what exists today:
Basic search: type a title, actor, or director; get matches. Some apps suggest as you type.
Advanced filters: genre, release year, language, content type, maturity rating.
People search: browse everything from a specific actor, director, or even a composer.
Contextual search: mood or theme (feel-good, true story) or cultural moments (Ramadan specials, Halloween movies).
Viewing context: filter by duration, availability, or “expiring soon.”
Cross-platform search: Apple TV, Google TV, and Roku let you search across multiple apps.
Netflix’s new iOS feature “What are you in the mood for?” is a step forward. It’s smarter than simple filters, and the design makes it feel more like a conversation.
The limit? That conversation ends quickly. You ask, it gives you a list of titles, and that’s it. No chat, no context, no “why this is right for you.”
That’s why I call it a nice-to-have, not a must-have.
What I would love is an AI that feels like a friend who knows your taste and the industry, and helps you discover hidden gems.
But the real competition may not even come from the streaming services.
It may come from AI platforms: OpenAI (GPT-5), Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, xAI Grok, DeepSeek or Mistral.
Think about it: these AIs are already better at having real conversations with us. They can ask follow-up questions, understand nuance, and help us figure out exactly what we’re in the mood for. Today, they might send us to Netflix or Disney+ once we’ve chosen something.
But tomorrow? They could go much further:
Playing the content directly inside their own platform.
Licensing shows and movies to keep viewers in their ecosystem.
Even creating original content: maybe AI-generated, maybe co-produced with studios.
That’s the possibility I was talking about with Marion at IBC.
Now, let me show you how that could look 👇