NBCUniversal is testing a redesigned Peacock mobile experience that moves discovery beyond title rows, adding conversational AI search, franchise hubs and more adaptive live video features in tests that NBCUniversal says will continue through early 2027.
Peacock’s conversational AI search will let viewers start with a title, mood, theme, similar program or situation. Search can then continue through follow-up prompts in a chat inside Peacock, allowing a viewer to refine or redirect discovery without starting over.
That is a different pattern from a traditional streaming search bar, where the viewer usually needs a title, actor or exact category in mind. Peacock is positioning search around intent: a viewer may know the kind of show or moment they want, even if they do not know what to type into a conventional catalogue search.
The feature also gives Peacock a way to connect looser prompts to its own franchises, genres and live events. A mood-based search could lead to an episode, but it could also lead to a clip, hub, game or event tied to the same property.
Franchise hubs turn shows into destinations
Franchise hubs will collect episodes, podcasts, clips, games and related experiences around NBCUniversal properties such as Minions, The Traitors, Love Island USA and One Chicago. NBCUniversal said the hubs will also open paths to microdramas and live moments.
The design makes sense for NBCUniversal because many of its strongest assets are recurring franchises rather than isolated titles. A viewer may arrive for one show, then move into a clip, companion podcast, earlier season, mobile game or related live moment without leaving that franchise context.
For Peacock, the model creates more entry points between premieres, finales and sports broadcasts. Instead of waiting for a viewer to return for a specific episode or game, the app can give fans smaller reasons to open Peacock in between longer viewing sessions.
The app is also becoming more vertical
Peacock’s Clips Feed is being positioned as a home for vertical clips and franchise experiences, including podcasts and Your Bravoverse. The goal is to make short-form discovery connect more directly to full episodes and related experiences inside the same app.
From late 2026 into early 2027, Peacock plans to expand live vertical video tests to The Voice simulcasts, NCAA basketball and golf. Those tests will feed into a Dynamic Video Player that automatically shifts between vertical and horizontal playback based on device orientation and keeps key action in frame.
NBCUniversal also said future NBA games will offer player stats and more game information below the live feed in a dual-screen view. That points to a sports experience built for phones first, not only a smaller version of a living-room broadcast.
This is part of a longer Peacock AI push
The November announcement follows several Peacock mobile updates announced earlier in 2026. In March, NBCUniversal previewed Your Bravoverse, an AI-powered Bravo experience that uses short-form vertical playlists and an AI-generated Andy Cohen avatar to guide fans through Bravo moments.
In October, NBCUniversal said Your Bravoverse was available in the Peacock mobile app for subscribers. The company said the feature combines AI technology with NBCUniversal editorial oversight to tailor Bravo playlists around fan engagement, storylines and franchises.
The March preview also included AI-enabled real-time cropping for live events, mobile games tied to Law & Order and Jeopardy!, and a plan to give vertical video a more permanent place in the mobile app.
What the search shift means
The Peacock update reflects a wider product trend: search inside apps is moving from exact matching toward guided prompts, context and follow-up. Tech Help Canada has covered the same pattern in its analysis of how AI is changing search.
For streaming subscribers, the feature is designed to reduce the friction of finding something when the request is vague. For a media company, it also creates more chances to decide which clips, episodes and franchise experiences appear after an open-ended query.
That second part deserves attention. If AI search becomes a bigger part of entertainment discovery, ranking and recommendation decisions can become more conversational without becoming more transparent. In its public announcement, NBCUniversal did not detail how Peacock will rank AI search results, how user data will factor into follow-up suggestions or how much control subscribers will have over personalization.
Availability is still the key limit
Most of the new mobile features remain in testing, with no full public launch date announced. NBCUniversal said updates have started and will continue through early 2027, while the Peacock membership rewards program is currently in beta and planned for a wider rollout in 2027.
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