Netflix has a new cure for decision fatigue

• Netflix is making big updates to its homepage to improve engagement and cut down on decision fatigue.
• The changes aim to boost time spent as Netflix shifts focus to engagement from subscriber growth.
• Netflix's strategy includes vertical video, AI search, and more.

Netflix is refreshing its homepage for the first time in a decade as it tries to keep people on the service for longer.

As Netflix has added sports and live events, its TV viewing experience has had to evolve, executives said in a blog post and presentation previewing the updates with reporters on May 6. The changes include moves to promote live events, use artificial intelligence in search, and help users get to search faster.

"Our members do a lot of eye gymnastics when they're scrolling down and right and going back and forth between rows and title details on the homepage," Eunice Kim, chief product officer of Netflix, said in the presentation. "This makes it hard to absorb enough information to understand what is unique about each title."

Why does that matter? Growth.

As it matures, Netflix isn't growing as fast in its core markets of the US and Canada. It has more opportunities in Asia, where there's more upside for its lower-priced, ad-supported tier.

In those mature markets, it's moving toward time spent as its North Star and away from subscriber growth. The more time its ad-tier subscribers spend on Netflix, the more ads they see and the more money Netflix makes.

So, Netflix has to keep offering something for everyone, and shows and movies people feel they have to show up for.

That means putting out an enormous amount of new titles that meet the varied tastes of its more than 300 million subscribers worldwide. It's why Netflix is rolling out more live programming like the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight and the YouTube-born dating show, "Pop the Balloon." It's why the service is considering offering other kinds of content, like video podcasts, that people are increasingly watching on TVs.

Despite being far and away the winner of the streaming wars, Netflix's share of US TV viewership has remained largely flat over the past year at around 8%, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, Google's YouTube has pulled away from the pack, to 12% of TV viewing in March, up 19% year over year.

Here's a breakdown of the changes Netflix said it's rolling out to users in the coming weeks and months to get them to make viewing decisions faster:

• More information on titles, like whether they've won awards or ranked among Netflix's most-watched.
• More visible shortcuts, which Netflix moved to the top of the screen from the left-hand side.
• Recommendations that respond to people's moods and interests in the moment based on signals like what they gave a thumbs-up or searched for.
• A cleaner design.
• A generative AI search tool in its mobile app that lets people search using natural language.
• A vertical feed in the mobile app with clips of Netflix shows and movies that can be tapped to watch immediately, add to a list, or share.