Netflix has introduced Max, a new voice on its video streaming service that recommends movies and TV shows for users based on how they're feeling and their personal preferences.
Available only for PlayStation 3 owners in the United States, Max reminds us of Apple's voice-recognition service Siri. Netflix even thinks so too, cleverly describing Max as a relation of Siri's:
Max, rumored to be the child of Siri and HAL 9000, asks a few questions about your mood or movie and TV show tastes to arrive at a suggestion ... One of the experiences Max offers is called the "ratings game," where you pick a genre to fit your mood and then rate a few titles on the familiar Netflix five star scale ...
Sometimes, when Max feels particularly confident, he will offer a fun, personalized suggestion after asking only one simple question ... Other times, when intoxicated by past success, Max will get a little cocky and offer a suggestion right away, no questions required. The catch ... this is a mystery suggestion and you’ll just have to press play and trust him.
Max is rolling out gradually to PS3 users in the U.S. in the coming weeks. Depending on the popularity of Max, Netflix may launch the service on other devices
To see Max in action, watch Netflix's senior manager of product innovation Pedro Freitas demonstrate the service in this video: