Volio Launches Voice-Based Video Experiences

San Francisco-based startup Volio has launched Volio digital media experiences, interactive video driven by the user's voice. Simply by talking, the user participates and guides the experience.

A Volio experience combines a personality, video, and speech recognition. The company enables media creators, brands, marketers, and entertainers to create topical, highly engaging, distinctively personalized "one-on-one" experiences. 

To coincide with the launch, Volio has partnered with men's publication Esquire magazine to create an app that gives users personalized, one-on-one experiences with three of the magazine's top columnists. The "Talk to Esquire" app, a companion app for the April edition of Esquire magazine, which is available in the Apple App Store, features Volio experiences with Esquire fashion director Nick Sullivan, drinks correspondent David Wondrich, and grooming expert Rodney Cutler. The app lets users talk virtually with each expert on selected topics. The columnists ask users questions and provide customized information and advice based on the user's spoken responses. 

"Volio represents the qualitative shift in how users are interacting with media," said David Granger, editor-in-chief of Esquire, in a statement. "They, like Esquire, want to interact via video, conversation, and other immersive experiences. We are thrilled to share this opportunity with the 'Talk to Esquire' app."

"We share a vision about how the combination of personality, video, and speech recognition technology will delight users," said Ron Croen, founder and CEO of Volio, in a statement. "We're excited to offer media companies and brands a way to extend and personalize their content as we've done with Esquire magazine."