Roku and Samsung Overhaul Interfaces to Control AI-Powered Content Discovery

The shift toward AI-assisted interfaces grants platform owners unprecedented leverage over content placement and viewer attention. By controlling the 'front door' of Discovery, OS providers are moving beyond hardware margins to capture recurring service revenue and high-margin ad inventory. This concentrated ecosystem control forces content developers and advertisers to secure high-tier platform partnerships just to remain visible. As recommendation engines replace manual app browsing, the industry is effectively consolidating around a few dominant platforms capable of leveraging cross-device data. Watch for shift in ad spending toward home screen 'marquee' placements as traditional in-app spots see reduced engagement due to platform curation.

The battle for TV OS dominance has intensified as platforms leverage parent company AI models. Per Engadget, Google showcased the integration of its Gemini model into Google TV at CES 2025, enabling 'Deep Dives' and conversational summaries. In September 2025, Amazon unveiled 'Alexa+' for its 2026 Fire TV lineup, which provides generative AI-powered content trivia and live highlights. These moves align with a broader industry trend of transforming the TV into a proactive information hub rather than a passive display. Samsung, for instance, integrated Perplexity AI in October 2025 to enable real-time web research directly from the screen.

Market share data from Parks Associates in April 2026 indicates that Roku OS and Samsung Tizen remain the top gatekeepers in U.S. broadband households, holding 28% and 23% of usage respectively. This concentration is driving a shift in business models; Roku reported in May 2026 that its Platform business, which includes advertising, generated 1.5x the gross profit of its devices segment. As hardware margins slim, Vizio has similarly transitioned to a 'platform + ads' model through its WatchFree+ service, which reached 19.1 million active users by late 2024 per TaurusX reporting.

Design philosophies are also diverging to suit different monetization goals. While Apple announced its 'Liquid Glass' UI at WWDC 2025 to prioritize design consistency across iOS and tvOS, Roku's May 2026 overhaul was explicitly focused on maximizing the value of its home screen real estate. Analysts from CNET noted that Roku's new marquee ad takes up nearly the entire right side of the screen, making the interface a persistent advertising surface. This design-led monetization strategy is intended to combat the 10-minute average search time consumers face when seeking content, as cited in Nielsen’s 2023 State of Play report.