Max Streaming Service Unveils AI-Powered Video Previews in Homepage Redesign

Max will show autoplaying video previews picked by AI

Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Max -- soon to be called HBO Max again -- is rolling out an update that automatically plays video previews when you hover over shows and movies. The video previews are launching to users in the US now, but Max is still working on an "AI-assisted" tool to pick the clips that go in them. In the "coming weeks," Max says its AI tool will automatically identify "standout" scenes from its shows and movies, which its team will then use to choose the clips featured in video previews. "This AI-driven technology will enable us to identify Drop-in Moments for the vast catalog of content on Max and significantly reduce the manual time needed to curate previews," Avi Saxena, Warner Bros. Discovery's chief technology officer, said in the press release. The streaming service will also include an option to turn off the audio or video in the autoplaying content, similar to Netflix. Max updated its interface in January to move the options from its top menu bar to the left side of the screen -- basically the opposite of what Netflix is doing in its upcoming homepage redesign. Max will have another big change sometime this summer, as that's when the switch back to HBO Max will be official.

Max is getting its own AI-supported homepage update - but don't worry, it won't be as bad as Netflix's new redesign

Its overhaul comes amid Netflix's latest layout being slammed by users Listen up, Max users, because it's the latest streaming service to receive a major overhaul of its homepage. Just weeks after Netflix unveiled its own user interface (UI) redesign - one that rage-filled Netflix subscribers have described as "dreadful" - one of its biggest rivals is also getting a landing page update. But, don't worry, Max fans, it won't be as frustrating to use as Netflix's latest redesign is. In a Warner Bros. Discovery press release, Max's parent company confirmed an "enhanced browsing experience" would start rolling out in the US this week (June 16 to 22). It's unclear when people in other countries where Max is available, such as Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, will receive the homepage refresh. What is clear, though, is Max has taken a page out of the Netflix playbook and actually redesigned its landing page to mirror that of the best streaming service's old layout. Here's what Max's current homepage looks like: And here's how Max's redesigned landing page will look once it's distributed to its worldwide userbase: As you can see above, version 2.0 of Max's UI looks much cleaner than its forebear did. For one, the icon bar has been moved to the left-hand side of the page. Meanwhile, its movie and TV shows are laid out in rectangular tile form, rather than the vertical aesthetic that the previous homepage had. If this format looks familiar, it's because it's a near-identical design to the Netflix app's homepage before its recent overhaul. I'm sure those of us who detest Netflix's new UI will be a little jealous with Max 2.0's layout, then. There's more to this update, too. When Max users hover over a tile, a corresponding preview video will automatically play after a couple of seconds. Per Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), it "builds on the success of Max's previous feature launch, which delivered video previews with audio on the homepage's hero carousel earlier this year." WBD is well aware that such a feature can be quite intrusive for users who are flicking through its library of the best Max movies and best Max shows. To combat this, the entertainment behemoth will allow customers to toggle this feature on or off in the settings and playback menu. So, if you don't want the automated video to play while hovering over a specific film or program, you can switch it off and never have to think about it again. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Max will soon support artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its user experience, too. According to WBD, an in-house AI-assisted tool will also launch on the platform in the weeks ahead. It'll be used to "identify and suggest 'Drop-In Moments', aka recognizable scenes from specific movies and shows. This will be used as part of each production's cyclical video previews, with the AI tool highlighting - to the Max team - which previews most enticed viewers to click on a movie or TV series. These recommended sequences will be used more often on the homepage to further lure in more users looking for something new to stream. What do you think of Max's forthcoming homepage redesign? Will it convince you to cancel your Netflix account and sign up to WBD's super streamer instead, which will be renamed HBO Max sometime in the next few months? Let me know in the comments.