AI Discovery February 7, 2026 8 min read

AI Semantic Search Will Replace Keyword Search in OTT

2026 is the year of semantic & intent-based AI search. Users search not by title, but by "show me something sad". How metadata enables this.

From Keywords to Intent

Traditional keyword search is outdated. Users often don't know what they want to watch — they know how they want to feel.

Old: Keyword Search

  • "Breaking Bad"
  • "Action movies"
  • "Tom Hanks"

New: Intent Search

  • "Something to make me cry"
  • "Feel-good family movie"
  • "Tense thriller for date night"

How AI Semantic Search Works

1

Natural language understanding

AI parses the query to understand intent, not just keywords.

2

Intent classification

Maps query to categories: mood, theme, social context.

3

Semantic matching

Finds content with matching emotional/thematic metadata.

4

Ranking by relevance

Prioritizes best matches using ML models.

2026 Examples

Platforms implementing AI-driven smart search:

  • Gizmott — natural language content discovery
  • Veltris — mood-based recommendation engine
  • Major streamers — testing voice search with intent understanding

Required Metadata for AI Search

AI search requires advanced metadata beyond basic genre/cast:

Mood tags

Happy, sad, tense, relaxing, inspiring.

Emotional metadata

Expected emotional journey/arc.

Scene-level descriptors

What happens in key scenes.

Theme tags

Underdog story, revenge, redemption.

EPG Service Solution

Implementing AI search?

EPG Service provides enriched metadata with mood tags, emotional descriptors, and theme classification for semantic search.

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