Vidio, the over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service by Indonesian conglomerate EMTEK Group has integrated Google Cloud’s generative AI-powered Vertex AI Search capabilities into its platform across TV, web, and mobile, making content discovery intuitive and seamless for millions of subscribers.
During Ramadan, video-on-demand viewership increases significantly. It peaks during Suhur, where individuals seek religious programs to set the tone for a day of fasting and prayer, and just before Iftar, where family-friendly programs are chosen to create a light-hearted atmosphere and spark conversation.
That frustration of failed searches, or the challenge of finding the right program for any occasion—even when the user doesn’t know exactly what they’re looking for—is now a thing of the past on Vidio.
With AI accurately interpreting the “true intent” behind a consumer’s query, non-specific searches like “Ramadan” will surface seasonally appropriate content on the first try, instead of leaving the user to tediously scour through the entire catalog by hand.
AI surfaces a personalised list of programs that are the “next best match.” If the user misspells a word or enters an incomplete query in Bahasa or English — especially common when using a connected TV’s remote control, AI still comprehends what the user is looking for.
“We’re committed to maximising content relevancy, making it seamless for users to find what matters most anytime, on any device,” said Tommy Sullivan, CTO of Vidio.
Vidio’s content recommendations previously required a detailed, manual keyword tagging process.
For example, if a popular superhero film was unavailable on the platform, staff had to meticulously add related keywords to other similar content for them to appear as alternatives.
As trends shifted, they had to repeatedly update tags to keep recommendations relevant—a labor-intensive, time-consuming, and inefficient approach.
Vertex AI Search has fully transformed this process by automatically and continuously analysing and organising Vidio’s entire catalog, including new shows as they are added. For viewers, this means no more search-related limitations or guesswork.
Unlike traditional search engines that rely on literal keyword matches, Vertex AI Search employs semantic search. It considers the relationships between words, learns from your past searches, and deciphers the context behind your queries.
This “human-like” understanding allows it to supply hyper-relevant results, instantly satisfying the user’s content cravings.
