Cineverse said it has released a public beta version of cineSearch, its artificial intelligence-based system designed to help users find content to watch.
cineSearch features Ava, an AI Video Advisor that responds to viewers questions with programming recommendations in a conversational, entertaining manner.
Finding programming to watch has proved frustrating to viewers who have cut the cord and turned to streaming. Cineverse sees cineSearch as a solution to help viewers find channels and content on its platform, as well as for other platform and services.
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“In our eyes, cineSearch is a win-win-win – using AI to solve actual problems that our industry has to contend with in order to keep serving fans, creators, and all of the platforms that connect the two,” said Cineverse CEO Chris McGurk.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be launching cineSearch in Beta today, introducing Ava to the world, while also officially initiating the go-to-market strategy we have developed that will drive revenue to our company in three ways: by licensing cineSearch to OEMs and streaming platforms as a white-label service; by driving fans to our own streaming brands; and offering a subscription service directly to consumers in the future,” McGuirk said.
According to a Cineverse study, one-third of viewers have canceled a streaming service because they felt the search functionality was hard to use, and 66% because there was “nothing good to watch.” Cineverse projections show cineSearch has the potential to lower churn by 16% leading to 24% cost savings.
Cineverse announced earlier this year it was working with Google Cloud to develop a conversational search tool. It also worked with Vionlabs, Datatonic and Nielsen’s Gracenote to give cineSearch a contextual understand of content.
"Now that cineSearch has entered its next phase, our vision is closer to completion and we are excited for our sales team, along with the support of our partners, to engage with OEMs and other potential customers,” said Cineverse Chief Technology Officer & Chief Operating Officer Tony Huidor.
"In early testing, we have seen great engagement from users thus far, who have averaged 41 minutes per session,” Huidor said. “The public Beta will allow us to collect even more information that will also allow us to take direct consumer feedback and behavior into account as we make additional enhancements, add new features, integrate more enriched metadata and evolve the product even further than it is today."
