How Do Users Find What They Love?
Every platform helps us find what we want, but how they guide us says a lot about what their business and customers prioritize. Netflix needs engagement time. YouTube needs ad watches. Airbnb needs bookings. All three discovery systems are built to optimize for their own outcomes.
Netflix: Built to Binge
Netflix’s interface is all about keeping us watching. As Reed Hastings said, “[Netflix] is competing with sleep, on the margin.” Since they want you to start watching as fast as possible, they immediately show recommendations and help you get to the best choice. Even when you search for something that Netflix doesn’t have, it recommends movies/shows with similar themes, actors, directors, etc. Making the search process as frictionless as possible keeps users on the app.
YouTube: Infinite Loop
The YouTube discovery loop is part search, part algorithm. Users generally start with a clear intent such as “2010 World Cup highlights,” and end up deep in autoplay chains of “Messi top goal highlights”. YouTube creates a similar videos list and an “up next” queue to keep us on the app. The longer we stay, the more ads YouTube can serve.
Airbnb: Narrow it Down
Airbnb takes the opposite approach. Discovery isn’t about endless browsing. It’s about narrowing down the search to the perfect place to stay. You can add filters like houses that have a hot tub, kitchen, and are right by the beach. Suddenly there are only 5 options to choose from, making it much easier. Choosing a place to stay from 1000s of options is hard but Airbnb makes the process of narrowing it down seamless to ensure we are happy in the end.
