Amidst the increased popularity of smart speakers, Channel 4 identified a need to enable interactivity between these types of gadgets, Google Assistant, and its OTT service, ‘All 4’. By using voice command, users no longer need to type or scroll when searching for content, meaning that they can spend less time looking for their favorite programs and more time watching them.

Channel 4 recognized the potential of the technology and wanted to adopt it early on in order to understand how ‘All 4’ interacted with voice interfaces. The ultimate goal of a voice command service was to make it easier for users to find and watch content. However, implementing this would be difficult; the technical process of voice recognition via a voice-user interface raises challenges relating to diction, accents, and phrases. Channel 4 was keen to resolve these obstacles prior to rolling out the feature.

In addition to voice recognition challenges, Channel 4 knew that it had to fully understand its users’ needs when developing workflows; there were no best practice principles to lean on as ‘All 4’ was one of the first platforms to incorporate voice command. As a result, Channel 4 knew that it would need to work alongside knowledgeable solution providers and utilize user testing to maximize the potential of the solution.