Virtual Newscasters Now Available For Hire

Virtual newscasters are now available for hire, thanks to the launch today of NewsBots - an innovative combination of news, speech and avatar technology from UK’s chatbot specialists Advanced Chatbot Solutions (ACS).

When a visitor lands on a NewsBot enabled home page they are greeted by a talking virtual newsreader who can brief them on a company’s latest news stories and announcements. The NewsBot is a Flash application, and as a result will work on most PCs without any need to download new software. Since NewsBots use automated news feeds there is no need to ever program the NewsBot directly - if the website is updated, then the newscast gets updated as well.
 
ACS Managing Director David Burden said, “NewsBots are a great way to catch a visitor’s attention, and to make websites more memorable - all of which helps drive traffic and ultimately sales.”
 
NewsBots have been designed to capitalize on the growing use of news syndication standards such as RSS, RDF and ATOM. Most content management systems, from simple blogging tools to enterprise solutions provide these feeds. Many websites, including most major media organizations, are already making the feeds available as computer text for visitors to use - but most people do not know what the feeds are. NewsBots let website owners exploit this technology investment by using the same feeds to drive a virtual news reader that can inform and entertain.
 
David added, “Website owners can use one of our standard avatars, or use a design tool to tailor one of the standard models to their own needs. We even offer a avatar design service for owners with specific branding requirements. We have a range of male and female voices available, and even different languages. With prices starting at under £500 ($875 USD) NewsBots are within the budget of almost every business and organisation. And being virtual personalities the virtual newsreaders work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and don’t disappear down the wine-bar at lunch-time!”
 
The same technology that is behind the NewsBot can also be used to provide a virtual tour guide for website visitors, and even a virtual sales assistant who can answer questions about a company’s products and services.
 
David concludes, “This combination of avatar and speech technology lets us take a wide variety of Web-based information and services and deploy them for clients in new and innovative ways. The technology also has considerable application in helping websites meet the accessibility needs of visually-impaired users, and can even allow us to provide access to the Web, as speech, from an ordinary telephone.” 
 
Source: Advanced Chatbot Solutions (ACS)