Netflix Launches a Vertical Mobile Feed
TL;DR: Netflix began rolling out the vertical feed in its mobile app in April 2026. The format shows short clips of series, movies, and video podcasts in a vertical scroll. AI selects the most relevant moments for each user — not random trailers, but segments calibrated to individual taste. The launch comes alongside an expansion of AI in recommendations and a $3 billion advertising revenue target for 2026.
The problem Netflix wants to solve is as old as the service itself: open the app, scroll the grid for minutes without finding anything convincing, close it. The paradox of choice in one of the largest catalogs in the world.
The vertical feed is the answer. Not a grid to browse, but a stream to scroll: short clips, selected by AI, showing exactly the moments from each piece of content most likely to get you to click.
What Changes in the Mobile App
The vertical feed is a new section of Netflix's mobile app. It works the way you already know from TikTok and Instagram Reels: vertical scroll, short clips, one at a time, full screen.
The difference from competitors is the origin of the content. On TikTok, you scroll through user-generated content. On Netflix, you scroll through fragments of the original catalog: scenes from series, clips from movies, previews of video podcasts — all selected by AI based on your history and taste.
It's not a succession of trailers. Co-CEO Gregory Peters described the logic this way: "We're using this technology to understand content at a much deeper level, making sure the vertical feed isn't just a succession of trailers but a surgical selection of moments that truly resonate with the subscriber."
The AI doesn't choose which content to show you. It chooses which moment of that content to show you.
The Problem Netflix Wants to Solve
Netflix has analyzed user behavior patterns for years. The finding is clear: a significant share of subscribers spend too much time in the content-selection phase, often finding nothing and abandoning the app.
This is the friction point the vertical feed directly targets. The logic is content that finds you, instead of content you have to find: open the app, scroll for thirty seconds, and you already have a clear idea of what you want to watch.
The vertical format also lends itself to discovering content that would have low visibility in the classic grid — older titles, international productions, video podcasts.
Video Podcasts: The Real Driver Behind the Format
Netflix is building a catalog of video podcasts: long-form non-fiction content, with guests, debates, and talk shows. It's a fast-growing segment dominated by YouTube and Spotify, one Netflix wants to break into.
The vertical feed is also built for this content. A two-hour video podcast doesn't sell with a 90-second trailer in the classic grid. It sells with a 40-second clip of the episode's most interesting moment — exactly what the vertical feed can show.
AI in Recommendations: The Declared Shift
The vertical feed isn't Netflix's only AI move right now. During the Q1 2026 call, Peters stated explicitly: "We've been in personalization and recommendations for two decades, but we still see enormous room for improvement by leveraging the latest technologies."
That's a significant admission. Netflix built its competitive advantage on its recommendation engine: the algorithm that knows what you want to watch before you do. Acknowledging there's still "enormous room" means generative AI opens up spaces that the collaborative filtering systems of the last twenty years couldn't cover.
Backing up this direction: in March 2026, Netflix acquired InterPositive, the AI filmmaking company founded by Ben Affleck. A signal that AI is entering not just content distribution, but production itself.
The Advertising Side
Netflix isn't launching the vertical feed just to improve the user experience. There's a direct economic goal: $3 billion in advertising revenue in 2026, double the $1.5 billion from 2025.
The vertical feed is a natural advertising surface. The short vertical format is the one where advertising works best on social platforms: high attention, low skip rate, smooth integration into the content flow.
Netflix has already announced it will use AI to support new ad formats and ad personalization. The vertical feed is the container. AI is the engine that decides which ad to show to whom and when.
The Context: Everyone Is Building Vertical Feeds
Netflix isn't moving alone. The vertical feed is the entire streaming industry's response to TikTok's rise as a discovery platform:
- YouTube has Shorts built into the home feed
- Instagram has Reels as a main tab
- Amazon Prime Video is testing preview clips in search
Netflix arrives with an advantage: its original catalog is the best in the industry. If AI can extract the right moments from that catalog and show them to the right people, the vertical feed becomes the best discovery tool for long-form content that exists.
Conclusion
With the vertical feed, Netflix is building a loop: AI selects the best moments from content, shows them to the users most likely to enjoy them, gathers data on what works, and improves the selection. More content in the catalog, more data, more precision. It's a self-feeding flywheel. The challenge is convincing users it's worth swapping compulsive scrolling on TikTok for curated scrolling on Netflix.
Sources: TechCrunch · Dexerto · Net Influencer · Mobile Syrup