TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO) has introduced an integrated Personalized Content Discovery platform. The new platform is intended to provide videooperators with a suite of content discovery features that combine TiVo's conversational voice search with personalized search and recommendations. The platform also features analytics capabilities to enable operators to conduct A/B testing in real time.
The platform leverages voice search to provide relevant personalized search results. Instead of bringing up the whole TV guide with 300+ channels, the response will highlight the top 10 TV programs that the user is most likely to be interested in, based on their viewing behavior and interests.
The platform also supports contextual voice queries, which allow users to narrow down results within a specific context. For example, if a user were to ask, "Find me movies with Tom Hanks," after the initial search results are displayed, the user can say "only the comedies" to filter the results. In addition, the conversational search capability spans across all content catalogs available to the consumer, such as linear TV, VOD or over-the-top (OTT) programming. As a result, the platform recognizes what the user is subscribed to and can be set to only return what is available to that specific user within their packages.
"For voice search and discovery to be truly effective, the user must be able to refine and explore through conversation," said Colin Dixon, founder and chief analyst, nScreenMedia. "Solutions such as TiVo's will be invaluable in helping operators deliver conversational discovery tools that allow their customers to more fully exploit the content that is available to them."
The platform has an integrated backend business console to provide management and real-time tuning of search results, allowing service providers to improve the user experience and generate more engagement from viewer searches. Operators can use rules to drive internal business objectives, such as boosting more VOD titles in voice searches to promote broader category awareness. Operators can also make real-time changes without requiring extra support from engineering teams.
"Thanks to our fully integrated approach, service providers can provide their customers with the flexibility of conversational search, going beyond traditional keywords and delivering a truly personalized experience that also drives their own business objectives internally," said Pratik Patel, TiVo's director of product management, advanced search and recommendations. "In the past, it was an incredibly timely and labor-intensive process to update search results. Now, changes can be created almost instantaneously, generating stronger, more relevant results for viewers while improving overall customer loyalty and engagement."
