HBO Max has introduced two new AI-driven mobile features for US subscribers, most notably "HBO Max Shorts", a vertical, scrollable feed of clips from the platform's existing library designed to help users discover what to watch. The move follows a broader industry trend, with Netflix trialling similar formats, as streamers look to borrow the swipeable, short-form browsing habits popularised by apps such as TikTok to drive viewers towards full-length content rather than standalone original videos.

The Shorts feature, currently being tested with a select group of iOS users in the US, lets viewers tap a "Shorts" icon to browse trailers, clips and bonus content curated by an in-house AI tool that uses scene-level metadata to identify compelling moments, with human editors involved in the process. Users can then jump straight into the full series or film, add it to their watchlist, or continue scrolling. HBO Max also announced "Ask HBO Max", a natural-language search tool allowing subscribers to find content using conversational prompts such as requests for a comedy or a "girls' night in" film, with executives describing both features as building on familiar browsing behaviours to make content discovery easier.