Pluto TV
UX Case Study
Company: Pluto TV
Role & Responsibility:
Role: UI / UX Designer / Visual Designer
Year: 2025
Overview: Improving User Retention Through Enhanced Content Discovery. Pluto TV has identified a significant churn rate among new users, with many canceling their subscriptions within the first month. Initial research suggests that users struggle with content discovery and feel overwhelmed by the vast selection of movies and shows.
Problem: Pluto TV users are frustrated by a lack of personalized recommendations, poor accessibility tools, and a confusing onboarding experience. These issues make content discovery difficult, hinder accessibility for users with disabilities, and leave new users feeling overwhelmed. Improving navigation, accessibility, and personalization is key to enhancing user satisfaction and retention.
Solution: To improve personalization, accessibility, and
Onboarding, the streaming service should implement AI-driven recommendations, a guided onboarding flow, and enhanced accessibility tools like customizable subtitles and screen reader support. A seamless cross-device experience ensures that preferences, watch history, and recommendations are synced, providing a more inclusive and intuitive user experience.
Goals: To address these issues, the service should implement a machine-learning recommendation engine, introduce guided onboarding for easier setup, and enhance accessibility with features like subtitles
and screen reader support, and enable
cloud syncing for a seamless
cross-device experience.
Approach: Personalized recommendations and intuitive onboarding boost user retention, reduce churn, and increase subscription renewals. Improved content discovery drives engagement, strengthens brand loyalty, and raises customer lifetime value, while better data collection enables targeted marketing and smarter content investments, ultimately fueling revenue growth.
Research:
Attitudinal / Qualitative
Interviews
Personas
User Flow
Site map
Wireframes
UI Designs
User Insights
“I never know what to watch—it just shows me everything, and nothing feels relevant.” Users feel overwhelmed by the lack of personalized suggestions, leading to decision fatigue and disengagement.
“When I first signed up, it didn’t explain anything. I had to figure it out myself.”
The onboarding experience lacks guidance, leaving new users confused about how to use key features or 
find content.
“The app doesn’t work well with my screen reader. I miss out on a lot of content.” Accessibility tools are either missing or poorly implemented, making the experience frustrating for users with disability
“It feels like the app doesn’t learn what I like—I keep seeing the same random stuff.” Users are disappointed by the platform’s failure to adapt to their viewing preferences over time.
Pain Points
Difficulty in Content Discovery – Users struggle to find relevant movies and shows due to a lack of personalized recommendations, leading to frustration and disengagement.
Inconsistent Navigation & UI Design – The platform’s layout is not user-friendly, making it difficult for users, especially those relying on assistive tools, to browse and interact with content efficiently.
Overwhelming Content Library – Without proper categorization or tailored suggestions, Users feel lost in an extensive catalog, leading to decision fatigue.
Low Engagement & High
Churn – Due to the lack of personalization, accessibility barriers, and a confusing onboarding experience, users disengage early and are more likely to cancel their subscriptions.
Unintuitive Onboarding Process The onboarding experience does not effectively guide users in setting preferences or navigating key features, making the platform harder to use from the start.
Limited Accessibility Features – Users with vision impairments or other disabilities often face barriers, including inadequate screen reader support, the absence of audio descriptions, and non-customizable text sizes.
Personas
Alex Rivera
Age: 20
Occupation: College student
Major: Communications
Location: Urban college town
Technology Use: Regular user of assistive technologies (screen readers, magnifiers, voice commands)
Doris Matthews
Age: 68
Occupation: Retired Schoolteacher
Location: Suburban Community
Doris Matthews
Age: 47
Occupation: Forman
Location: New Mexico
Technology Use: iPhone & iPad
Wireframes
Design
Takeaway: To enhance the user experience, the streaming service should prioritize AI-driven personalization, a streamlined onboarding process, and robust accessibility features, including customizable subtitles and screen reader compatibility. Ensuring cross-device sync will further support a consistent, inclusive, and intuitive viewing experience.