Ello is an AI reading buddy that supports kids with reading challenges and just launched a new product on Monday, allowing children to participate in writing stories
The new AI-powered feature, “Storytime,” lets kids make up their own stories by choosing from different settings, characters, and plots. One example would be a story about a hamster named Greg who appeared in a talent show in space.
There are thousands of possible combos because kids can choose from dozens of prompts.
A bright blue, friendly elephant, Ello’s AI reading partner, listens to the child read aloud and corrects their speech to catch mispronunciations and missed words. Kids can tap on the question mark button to get more help if they don’t know how to say a word.
There are two reading modes in Storytime. In one mode, Ello and the reader take turns reading; in another mode that is easier for younger readers, Ello reads most of the time.
Using AI to help kids write stories isn’t a new idea. Amazon released its AI tool in 2022 that creates animated stories for kids based on themes and settings like jungles with magic or experiences under the sea. It’s not just Scarlet Panda and Story Spark that have jumped on this trend.
Ello thinks its Storytime service is unique because it has an advanced AI system that changes based on what a child says and teaches reading skills using phonics-based methods. The business says its technology works better than OpenAI’s Whisper and Google Cloud’s speech API.
Storytime is also customized based on the user’s reading level and the lesson for the week. For example, if Ello is helping a first-grader work on their “ch” sound that week, the AI will craft a story with the words “chair” and “cheer” on purpose.
Ello says that its tech team ensured the stories were safe for kids by adding safety features. The business tested the item with teachers, kids, and reading experts for a while. In the first version, kids could only pick from predetermined story choices. The company does plan for a future version where kids will be even more involved in the process.
“If a teacher makes up an open story with a kid, they give them the building blocks by talking with them.” Catalin Voss, co-founder and CTO of Ello told TechCrunch, “I think it would look a lot like that.” “Kids like that, there are some guardrails at some point.” It has to do with the blank page. “What do you want the story to be about?” you ask a five-year-old. And it gets too much for them.
The company released an iOS app a few months ago in addition to Storytime. This means that its AI reading coach can now help even more people. It used to only work with tablets, like iPads, Android, and Amazon.
It costs $14.99 a month; over 700,000 books have been read, and tens of thousands of families have been helped. On the other hand, people who get help from the government can get it for only $2.99 a month. Ello also works with schools that don’t have money to give free subscriptions.
Ello also recently put its library of decodable children’s stories online so anyone can read them for free.
The AI reading coach startup Ello gets $15 million to help kids learn to read and write.