Virgin Media has deployed an army of so-called Artificial Intelligence (AI) robots to keep watch on the 220 television channels it offers via its set-top boxes — proactively checking for any problems with sound or picture quality. These digital assistants work around the clock, continuously monitoring for any degradation of service.
Channels will be assessed in the background every six minutes or so. That should dramatically cut the amount of time before any fixes can be rolled out, Virgin Media has claimed. This only applies to channels delivered via a broadband connection, not those delivered via traditional cable.
If that sounds familiar, it's likely because Virgin Media already uses a similar system to keep tabs on its broadband. The company rolled out the system, dubbed Smart Support, more widely earlier this year.
It operates in the background every hour of the day, all week long, examining your broadband performance behind the scenes to identify any connectivity or speed problems.
Should Smart Support detect something that could cause issues with your broadband connection, it'll suggest a few simple steps – like tightening loose cables or resetting the Hub — to get things back on track.
A similar process will now apply to television channels. Rather than waiting for problems to crop up, Virgin Media O2 is now actively hunting them down to ensure you don't miss any crucial moments.
Here's how it works – Virgin Media's AI 'bots experience your TV service in the same way you do, sitting through programmes and keeping tabs on what's coming through your screen. They're constantly checking for any drop in quality, whether that's dodgy audio or fuzzy pictures.
It fires off instant alerts to the human teams, who can then jump in to sort things out. This means problems get investigated and fixed much faster than the old methods allowed.
The accuracy has improved too, so Virgin Media can pinpoint exactly what's gone wrong and get it resolved before it ruins your evening's entertainment.
Discussing the launch of this new proactive system, Virgin Media O2 Chief Technology Officer, Jeanie York said: "Creating and launching these new TV robots means we’re able to identify and address any service issues faster and more accurately than ever before, and in some cases before a customer even realises there was a problem.
"Whether our customers are watching the big final on Sunday or other live sport, their favourite film or the season finale of their favourite programme, reliable TV makes these moments possible. This new capability is another innovative step in giving our customers a great experience and ensuring we provide the reliable TV service they expect."
Virgin Media is already looking at ways to expand its AI monitoring efforts and is exploring what else these robots can do, including how they might spot an even wider variety of outages and performance problems.
The goal is to make the monitoring even stronger, giving you better protection against anything that might disrupt your viewing. It's a real shift in how Virgin Media O2 thinks about service quality for its millions of customers nationwide. Instead of the old reactive approach where problems got fixed after they'd already bothered you, the focus is now firmly on prevention.
Your service is being watched constantly, so issues can be tackled before they reach your living room. It's all about giving you the confidence that your TV will work when you need it most.
