With TikTok nonetheless going through the opportunity of a ban within the U.S., the recognition of short-form video content material continues to develop. The most recent firm to enter this area is TED, the non-profit finest recognized for its TED Talks that includes distinguished figures like Invoice Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the late Pope Francis.
On Wednesday, the corporate introduced its new short-form video characteristic, aptly named “TED Shorts.” The characteristic has steadily rolled out to customers because the starting of Might.
Accessible on each iOS and Android gadgets, TED Shorts may be discovered in the course of the navigation bar. By tapping the button, customers are taken to a swipeable vertical feed that includes brief snippets of TED Talks and different unique content material. Customers can like movies, depart feedback, and share with mates.
TED teamed up with Genuin, a no-code platform for generative video experiences, to energy the TikTok-like characteristic. As Genuin defined to TechCrunch, TED’s new feed can be personalised with AI, curating a number of movies based mostly on components like private pursuits, trending topics, and different indicators to floor probably the most related content material for every viewer.
TED Shorts is likely one of the extra notable additions to the app, which hasn’t seen a big replace in its 15-year historical past. Since its launch in 2010, the app has primarily served as a vacation spot for customers to entry TED Talks and different content material through their cellular gadgets, resembling academic animations and 26 podcasts spanning numerous matters like enterprise, local weather, and well being.
The brand new characteristic gives a approach for customers to find highlights of their favourite audio system earlier than committing to a full-length video. That is additionally the primary time customers can have interaction with each other inside the TED app, fostering a way of neighborhood that will have been beforehand missing.
TED already has a considerable following on YouTube (26.1 million), TikTok (2.8 million), Instagram (8.1 million), and different social media channels, indicating a requirement for brief video content material.
The launch of TED Shorts comes at an important time because the app seeks to spice up its development. Head of Product Tricia Maia tells TechCrunch that the app had been deprioritized “for several years,” which impacted its month-to-month lively customers and annual development metrics. In response to Appfigures, the app was downloaded 1 million occasions in 2024, a 17% decline in comparison with 1.2 million installs in 2023.
So far, the corporate boasts greater than 30 million app downloads globally.
TED joins a rising variety of corporations adopting short-form video content material as platforms compete for customers’ consideration. Earlier this month, Netflix revealed that it’s experimenting with a brief video feed for its cellular app.
In the meantime, TikTok faces a potential ban in mid-June, though President Trump plans to increase the deadline for a 3rd time as deal negotiations proceed. Ought to U.S. customers lose entry to TikTok, they may search various platforms, and TED hopes they’ll flip to what it believes is higher-quality content material in comparison with what’s discovered on different apps.
“In an era of fragmented attention, people are actively seeking more thoughtful, less overwhelming ways to connect with new ideas, and with each other,” Maia mentioned. “[TED Shorts] is our antidote to algorithm fatigue and doom-scrolling low-quality content.”
The corporate plans to proceed evolving TED Shorts over time to satisfy consumer wants whereas additionally exploring new methods to reinforce neighborhood constructing.
Maia added, “We’ll explore ways to add new community features, and expand community-driven features to other TED platforms, like our website … This could expand beyond video and mobile to a cross-platform community engagement experience where our audience won’t just watch videos, but can participate in truly personalized, topic-driven digital communities on a global scale.”
