EE is taking aim at one of streaming’s biggest annoyances, endlessly scrolling for something to watch.
The company has launched Smart Search, a new AI-powered feature on EE TV. It lets users find content simply by describing what they’re in the mood for.
Instead of typing exact titles, Smart Search understands more natural queries like “a funny detective show” or even a quote from a scene. It then pulls results from across live TV, on-demand services and integrated streaming apps. As a result, it presents everything in one place.
The idea is simple: less app-hopping, more watching.
Alongside it, EE is introducing Mood Matcher, another AI-driven tool designed to tackle the “what should we watch?” problem. Users answer a few quick prompts about mood, genre or themes. The system then serves up tailored recommendations. This is something EE says is particularly useful when multiple people are trying to agree on what to watch.
The launch leans heavily on a very real problem. EE’s own research suggests 41% of viewers struggle to discover new content, while 45% fall back on rewatching shows just to avoid the effort of choosing. Perhaps more tellingly, 38% say deciding what to watch causes household tension which probably sounds familiar.
There’s also the issue of fragmentation. With 42% of users relying on their phones to find content and 61% wanting a more unified viewing experience, EE is positioning Smart Search as a way to bring everything together into a single interface.
That broader shift, making discovery as important as the content itself, is becoming a key battleground for TV platforms. As analyst Paolo Pescatore puts it, speed and simplicity are now just as critical as having a deep catalogue.
Smart Search and Mood Matcher are available now through the EE TV app on compatible devices. A wider rollout is planned for EE TV Pro and EE TV Box Edge hardware in the near future.
For EE, the pitch is clear: stop searching like a database, and start searching like a human.
