Samsung Explains Universal Guide AI Program For Smart TVs

Samsung Electronics knows how hard it is to look for content available on TV these days. So the South Korean tech giant has introduced a new AI system for its smart TVs that helps users find or discover content that matches their preference.

Samsung took to its online newsroom Thursday to announce Universal Guide, its advanced program powered by artificial intelligence that helps with content discovery. According to Samsung, its new program will assist users in finding content, be it a TV show, movie, song or a sports channel , that fits their taste.

Universal Guide is designed to give suggestions that viewers might like. The suggestions are based on the preferences users exhibit every time they use their smart TV. Basically, the AI system determines the viewing patterns of users over a few weeks. It then uses the data it has collected to come up with suggestions that take into account just about everything, including live channels.

Samsung is aware that there are similar services that came before Universal Guide. However, it is proud to say that its program is the first to use the power of AI in making intelligent content recommendations to consumers. The function is, of course, only available on Samsung’s new smart TVs.

The Galaxy S9 maker also pointed out that its new AI program stands out compared to its rivals because its content recommendation algorithms do not merely constitute suggestions that are based on the user’s past viewing patterns, but also the latest trends in TV content. Samsung explained that the latest trends are based on the newest popular content available in the user’s area. So its smart TVs are sure to recommend shows and content that would appeal to every user no matter where they are in the world.

The new AI-powered program is also built to search through a large amount of content from various supported services. According to Samsung, it knows how more and more consumers have severed ties with cable suppliers and are opting to subscribe to services like YouTube, Netflix, Spotify and others. Hence, viewers can expect Universal Guide to get its suggestions from all of these services and apps.

Universal Guide has its own interface, which is divided into five tabs: For You, TV Shows, Movies, Sports and Music. The first tab is the one that automatically recommends shows based on machine learning analysis done on the previous viewing habits of users. The other four simply offer the latest trending content apart from the recommendations that are already showing up on the For You tab.

Samsung promises to expand and continuously upgrade Universal Guide. The company said that by the second half, it will further advance the recommendation algorithm that will use AI to pick out real-time broadcast content and Over the Top (OTT) content, which refers to shows and movies provided via a high-speed internet connection. Samsung is also thinking of adding eSports and home shopping tabs to its smart TV interface.