By Nick Krewen
Pelmorex, the parent corporation of The Weather Network, is getting in the AI game with the launch of Your Weather Assistant, a new tool that aims to provide a more customized digital experience for consumers.
The generative AI-powered website feature will provide unique and customized responses about individual weather forecast queries. When a user hits the link, they’re directed to a site that asks, “Curious About the Weather?” The answering window offers a rotating series of questions, but also responds to distinctive queries.
In addition to meteorologically specific advice such as wardrobe suggestions, travel recommendations and historically related trivia, the tool can also dispense advice on everything from weather-related dog-walking routines to future forecasts for destinations the inquirer may be traveling to in the near future.
Nana Banerjee, president and CEO of Pelmorex Corp, says Your Weather Assistant is the first step in the company’s AI journey. “We aim to revolutionize the weather experience with cutting-edge AI and this is the first in a number of new and exciting advancements to follow,” Banerjee tells MiC.
“Businesses that latch on to the latent drivers of user needs have an opportunity to be one step ahead of competitors,” he continues. “We believe we did that here. The arrival of generative AI sets an expectation for technology companies to step up their AI capabilities. ”
Tami Coughlan, head of sales and operations at Pelmorex Corp, tells MiC that ad opportunities include “exclusive sponsorship opportunities exist to own the weather assistant across our platforms including standard ad placements as well as customized background potential.”
She also suggested that Pelmorex will be expanding targeting and sponsorship opportunities “as the product continues to evolve.”
According to measurement co Kochava, TWN registered its largest volume of visitors at 67.9 million in July 2023 and recorded no fewer than 49.5 million in monthly visits during that time six-month time period.
The Weather Network is currently ranked 36th overall in Canada for website traffic and 27th in Alexa traffic rank.
Pelmorex also owns the French-language MétéoMédia, available throughout Québec and nationwide via satellite, but Your Weather Assistant is exclusively an English-language offering for now. French and Spanish language versions are in advanced development and Banerjee says Pelmorex intends to “eventually cover all major languages in the world.”
