Netflix bets on AI, gaming and mobile-first discovery to deepen engagement in APAC

Netflix is sharpening its ambitions in Asia-Pacific (APAC), positioning product innovation—not just content—as the next growth engine as it seeks to deepen engagement and expand beyond traditional video streaming.

At its first APAC Product & Technology Showcase, the streaming giant unveiled a series of initiatives spanning mobile discovery, AI-led personalisation, content merchandising and gaming—underscoring how the company wants to make entertainment more immersive, interactive and sticky for nearly a billion users globally.

“Innovation has to play a very important role at a company bringing beloved entertainment to nearly a billion people around the world,” said Elizabeth Stone, chief product & technology officer at Netflix. “By continuing to meet member preferences, enabling new entertainment formats and giving creators tools that expand how they bring their stories to life, we become a must-have destination for engaging locally and globally relevant entertainment.”

Why is Netflix redesigning the mobile viewing experience?

At the centre of Netflix’s latest product push is mobile—a particularly strategic market for APAC, where consumption increasingly happens on smartphones.

Netflix’s redesigned mobile experience, already available in India, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Malaysia, will expand to South Korea and Japan in July before rolling out further across the region.

The most visible change is ‘Clips’, a vertical video discovery feed designed to help users discover content through short-form previews. Users can watch clips, save titles, share recommendations and jump directly into playback.

Kim Ho, product designer for mobile at Netflix, said the redesign emerged from one core insight: entertainment choices have exploded and discovery itself has become a friction point.

“Finding entertainment can be entertaining when choosing feels easy and fun,” Ho said.

Netflix believes short-form discovery can reduce that friction while creating more engagement moments throughout the day. The company also plans to test themed clip collections that organise discovery around moods, genres and formats—including reality shows, behind-the-scenes content and podcasts.

But mobile is only one part of a broader strategy.

Netflix is also investing heavily in what it calls product merchandising—the science of helping users find the right content faster.

Eugenie Yeo, senior director, product merchandising for APAC, said recommendation is no longer limited to surfacing titles. Netflix increasingly personalises artwork, trailers, descriptions and homepage layouts to improve conversion from browsing to viewing.

The company is also creating themed hubs built around audience behaviour and cultural moments—from Diwali in India and Golden Week in Japan to book-based collections.

Its recently launched “Watch Your Favourite Books” destination is one example of how Netflix is trying to turn fandom into deeper platform engagement.

Artificial intelligence is expected to accelerate those efforts.

Stone said Netflix has long relied on machine learning but is now deploying newer AI models to improve catalogue understanding and personalise discovery at greater speed and scale. The company said these capabilities are already improving member engagement.

Can gaming become Netflix’s next engagement engine?

The third pillar of Netflix’s product strategy is gaming.

Lisa Burgess, general manager, Games Studio, said Netflix’s goal is to extend entertainment beyond watching and enable users to participate in stories.

A key initiative is Netflix Playground, a dedicated gaming environment for children and families integrated into Netflix memberships and built without ads or in-game purchases.

Netflix plans to continue expanding Playground globally with more IP-led experiences. On June 20, the platform will introduce a new KPop Demon Hunters collection featuring six mini-games.

As streaming platforms compete for attention rather than subscriptions alone, Netflix’s APAC roadmap signals a broader shift: becoming not just a place to watch content, but a destination to discover, interact and play.