Radio Content Giant Audacy Debuts Custom Voice Assistant From Voicify on Mobile App
Audacy, one of the largest radio station owners in the U.S., has embedded a custom voice assistant in its mobile app built by voice app developer Voicify. Users can issue voice commands to manage media control and navigation hands-free.
Audacy AI
Audacy, formerly known as Radio.com, quietly rolled out the voice assistant in the latest update ahead of a likely more formal launch to come. The initial list of voice commands sticks to starting and stopping the audio, skipping around the track and playlist, and adding tracks to the queue and favorite list. That said, Audacy and Voicify have described more ambitious plans for voice AI in future upgrades. The voice assistant is the first fruit of a multi-year agreement Audacy and Voicify signed at the end of last year. Audacy, which owns 235 radio stations across dozens of markets, is keen to augment its content platforms to take advantage of voice AI for interactive ads and voice commerce, as well as the branded voice assistant.
“As we continue to expand and enhance the Audacy direct-to-consumer platform, adding new interactive voice capabilities and enabling voice commerce experiences across a wide range of devices is an important area of future growth, especially in an age where flexibility and speed to market are a must have for our advertising partners,” J.D. Crowley, Audacy Chief Digital Officer explained when the deal was first signed.
Voicify Customized
The personalized options for Audacy’s voice assistant grew out of Voicify’s major overhaul to its platform last year. The upgrade enhanced the software’s flexibility, meaning the voice experiences built on the platform could be personalized far more than previously and better integrated with data management systems. That ensures clients and advertisers can track trends in engagement and purchases through voice. For now, Voicify and Audacy are focusing on getting app users to become comfortable with the voice assistant before releasing more options and features. The current version will serve to gather feedback that Audacy and Voicify will use to inform those changes and improvements
“The next phase will include a trust and training campaign to help Audacy customers understand and recognize the value of a conversational interface to their favorite digital experience,” Voicify marketing vice president Jake DiMare explained in a blog post. “Future rollouts also include ambitious additions to the scope of features users can manage with voice and their interactions with content publishers.”
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