EE TV has launched a new AI-powered search feature called Smart Search, designed to make it easier to find something to watch across all the apps and channels on the platform.
There’s also a second new feature launching alongside it, called Mood Matcher. Both are available now – though with a fairly significant catch we’ll get to in a moment.
EE TV, for those unfamiliar, is the pay-TV service available to BT and EE broadband customers. It gives you a choice of two boxes – the EE TV Box Pro, a YouView-based 4K recorder with Freeview built in, and the EE TV Box Edge, a smaller version of the same.
EE broadband customers can also opt for an EE TV Apple TV 4K Box instead – a custom version of Apple’s streamer with EE’s service pre-installed.
On top of the hardware, EE TV offers a range of bundles combining streaming services like NOW (which now includes HBO Max), Netflix, and TNT Sports.
What Is Smart Search?
The idea behind Smart Search is straightforward: instead of having to remember the exact title of a show or film, you can just describe what you’re looking for.
That might be a mood (“something funny”), a theme (“a crime drama set in Scandinavia”), a plot detail, or even a line of dialogue you half-remember from a scene.
Smart Search then pulls together results from across EE TV’s live channels, on-demand libraries, and integrated streaming apps – all in one place, without having to hop between individual services.
Anyone who has spent ten minutes opening and closing Netflix, NOW, and Prime Video trying to find the same thing knows the frustration.
EE TV’s Director of Product, Luciano Oliveira, put it well: “We’ve all lost half an hour to scrolling, or given up and rewatched something familiar just to end the debate.”
It’s something most streaming devices are trying to implement these days – from Fire TV to Sky Stream and more – with varying degrees of success.
Alongside Smart Search, EE TV’s new Mood Matcher takes a slightly different approach – rather than typing or speaking a query, it asks you a few quick questions about your mood and preferences, then serves up a personalised list of suggestions.
EE reckons it’s particularly handy for groups, where picking something everyone agrees on can take longer than the film itself.
EE also released some consumer research alongside the launch – 45% of people say they regularly rewatch the same shows because choosing something new feels like too much effort, and 38% say deciding what to watch is the number one cause of tension in their household.
… But Not Available To Most Customers Yet
Here’s the thing, though: If you’re an EE TV customer using the EE TV Box Pro or EE TV Box Edge – which is to say, most EE TV customers – Smart Search and Mood Matcher aren’t available to you yet.
EE says both features are live “via the EE TV app on compatible TV devices”, with plans to extend availability to EE TV’s own boxes “at a later date.”
For now, this means the new AI search features only work on the custom Apple TV 4K device that customers can get.
So if you happen to be watching EE TV through the Apple TV box, you’re good to go.
But if you have the EE TV Box Pro (previously known as the BT TV Box Pro) sitting under your telly, you’ll have to wait – with no specific timeline given for when that will change.
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