Velora is now your all‑in‑one personal sermon companion. While Relay helps you follow along with and capture the messages you hear, Ask Velora opens up a completely new way to engage with them. Ask Velora is a fully context‑enriched AI conversation experience, tuned specifically for reflecting on sermons and creating sermon‑based resources.

What’s new

These days, it can feel like AI chatbots are being tacked onto every product. So what makes Ask Velora special? Here are a few of the standout benefits.

Full Relay context and mentions

Context is key. Unlike generic AI, Velora automatically has access to the full library of sermons and lessons you’ve relayed—and you’re not limited to chatting about just one at a time. You can ask about broad themes in what you’ve been learning in church, even mentioning a specific date range. You can also get more specific and mention one or more sermons to chat about.

Here are the different ways you can refine Velora’s context by using “@” mentions:

• By date / date range · The mention menu initially shows “Last Sunday” at the top. Start typing “Last” to reveal other timeframes like last week, month, or year, or begin entering any specific date or date range to filter with precision.

• By speaker · Limit the chat’s context to relays by one or more particular speaker.

• By relay · Focus the chat on one or more specific relay. When you start a new conversation from a relay, that sermon is automatically included in the context.

We’ve taken the time to build a robust memory and context retrieval system because the subject matter is sacred, and reflecting on the preached Word deserves a deeply considered, high-quality experience.

Tuned for discipleship, not dependency

Ask Velora is built on a prompt architecture specifically for Christian discipleship—not to be a source of generative wisdom, but a thoughtful companion to help you internalize the biblical teaching of your own pastor and church.

Recent research from Barna Group in partnership with Gloo found that 1 in 3 Americans now trust AI spiritual guidance as much as a pastor's. We’re concerned about that, and it’s why Ask Velora is designed to guide you in the opposite direction: when you ask it something, it doesn’t generate new spiritual insight from the internet. Instead, it helps you go deeper into what your own pastor already preached, as captured in your relays.

Instead of asking Velora, “What do you think about x?”, try asking, “How has my pastor taught on x?” That kind of question will give you the richest, most helpful experience with Ask Velora.

Tappable Relays and follow-up buttons

Individual relays appear as tappable cards within the conversation, making it simple to open each message and read it in full.

Additionally, we built the feature we’ve always wished other AI chats included: generative follow‑up buttons. Whenever Velora suggests a set of next steps or presents multiple-choice options in a quiz, it shows them as tappable buttons right in the conversation. Tap once, and the dialogue flows forward seamlessly.

Dynamic Bible text, inline

Just like in relay transcripts, when Velora quotes Scripture in its responses, it pulls the actual text from the Bible API and renders it as a proper Scripture quote in your preferred translation—with tappable verse numbers that open directly in your Bible reader.

Thoughtful haptics

Your phone gives a soft, subtle vibration the moment your message submits and Velora begins thinking—then a distinct one when the response finishes streaming. These small details make the whole interaction feel native and satisfying.

Copy responses

A button at the end of every reply lets you copy the markdown and paste it into any editor or document you’d like. This comes in handy when you’re creating discussion guides or other sermon-based material that you plan to revise or share with others.

Future releases will introduce more options for exporting and sharing Ask Velora content, as well as creating distinct artifacts.

Improvements and bug fixes

• Fixed an issue causing users to occasionally get signed out

• Added new back-office capabilities for addressing user account-related issues

• Misc. UI polish

Start each day with a verse from God’s Word, personalized to what you’re learning in church. Plus, a powerful new search feature allows you to quickly find Scripture and sermons.

What’s new

Personalized daily verse

Daily verses on your home screen are intelligently selected based on your recent Relays—the sermons and other Bible-teaching lectures that you’ve captured in Velora.

Velora also pairs your personalized verse with unique artwork based on the theme and mood of the text—all to help extend Sunday’s teaching into your whole week.

Search

Velora does more than just record sermons—it understands them. Thus, you can search things like “sermons that make you think” or “comforting messages” and find exactly what your looking for—even when those exact words aren’t in the transcript.

You can also search the Bible. Filter results by Relays or Bible passages, or view them together.

Search the Bible by:

• Keyword

• Passage reference

Search past Relays by:

• Topic

• Title

• Speaker

• Key passage

Velora now has a polished home screen—a place to open God’s Word and reflect on your church’s preaching. It displays a daily Bible verse paired with elegant artwork, and will soon be a home to your Ask Velora conversations, devotionals, and more.

What’s new

Each morning, a daily Bible verse appears on your home screen. Tap it to open the full passage in the Bible reader, share it with someone, or simply meditate on the verse before the day begins.

Coming soon: daily verses personalized to what your pastor has been preaching, so Sunday's teaching stays with you through the week.

Additional improvements

• A new full-screen update experience to highlight what’s new in the app

• Relay Version 2 improvements are being tested and gradually rolled out to all Private Beta users

Let there be light! Velora now includes an option to enable light theme across the full experience—with an additional sepia option in the Bible reader (and additional reader options still to come).

What’s new

Light theme

While light theme is the standard default in most apps, we chose to start with dark theme for Velora. As an app meant to be used in church, we felt it was important that the interface feel unobtrusive and essentially fade into the background. We considered the simple, dignified beauty of a Bible bound in black leather, using touches of color sparingly in ribbons or headings on the page. Velora is designed as a dark-first experience with all of this in mind.

At the same time, a brighter interface offers distinct advantages, particularly for reading in well‑lit environments. As we’ve expanded Velora beyond the live Relay experience, our Private Beta members have begun using it in a wider range of contexts outside church. In light of this, it’s the perfect time to introduce a light theme.

In the end, the theme you choose comes down to individual preference, and we’re delighted to make the light option available today—across the entire app.

Bible reader text settings

Within the Bible reader, we are also introducing text settings for a more personalized, quality reading experience. You can now adjust text size, line height, and background color—as well as choose from a curated selection of typefaces:

• Georgia is our standard serif typeface, used for prominent Relay headings and to distinguish Scripture quotations from the rest of the interface typography.

• Gentium is an exceptionally legible serif typeface with hand-drawn character. It was created by SIL Global, a faith-driven nonprofit dedicated to developing Bible translation and language resources for communities around the world.

• Lexend is a sans serif typeface designed to lessen visual strain while reading. Originally created with dyslexia in mind, it has since gained broader appeal as a font that makes reading more comfortable for everyone.

We will continue to roll out additional options over time, aiming to apply Old World craftsmanship to the contemporary, digital display of God’s Word.

Relay passage illumination

When passages are identified during a real-time Relay session, they now illuminate in the Bible reader with an underline, colored based on the type of reference or suggestion. The chapter tab also glows, providing a subtle visual cue that links together the Relay transcription and timeline with the Bible text itself.

If you’d prefer, you can off turn Relay passage illumination in the Bible text settings.

Velora Journal improvement

Our online articles now include AI-powered audio, so you can listen to them hands‑free—whether you’re tackling the dishes or traveling to and from work.

Reliability improvements and bug fixes

• Miscellaneous improvements to Bible text formatting

• Fixed an issue on Android where users could not remove versions from their list of preferred Bible versions

• Smoother scrolling and overall app performance

When you capture a powerful sermon with Relay, you can now easily pass it along to anyone—even if they don’t use Velora. Just tap Share to generate a public web link that shows the full transcript, reference timeline, and summary.

Planning to reflect on Sunday’s message in your small group or around the dinner table? From that public link, you can export the transcript, references, and summary as PDF files and print so everyone has a copy in front of them to follow along.

What’s new

Share Relay link

You can generate a shareable web page for any previously recorded Relay. This public page mirrors how the content appears in the Velora app and can be opened in any web browser on any device. Clicking on a reference will open that passage on BibleGateway.com.

If you update the Relay’s title or change its speaker inside the app, those edits are automatically reflected on the public web page. You can also turn off sharing for a Relay and disable its public link at any time.

Export Relay as PDF or markdown

From the More menu on a Relay’s web page, you can now export the transcript, references, or summary as either a styled PDF or a markdown file. Choose the PDF format when you want to print the Relay or include it as an attachment in an email.

The PDF maintains Velora’s worship-centered layout, and the inline references turn into interactive citations that take you to a footnote section at the end, where every reference is listed with active BibleGateway links.

Performance enhancements and bug fixes

• Improvements to formatted transcript generation, resulting in more logical paragraph and heading structures

• Fixed a bug where speaker name was occasionally not displaying on active Relays

• Fixed miscellaneous issues related to post-Relay uploading and processing

• Fixed an issue on Android where consolidated reference timeline items would open the reference detail screen rather than expanding

The English Standard Version (ESV) is now in Velora! We’re excited to bring this trusted, much‑requested translation of God’s Word to Velora’s Bible reader.

To add the ESV to your Bible version library, tap the current translation in the upper-left corner of the Bible screen. Then scroll down and choose “View more versions” at the bottom. Find ESV in the list of available translations, add it, and then select it under “My versions” to make it your active Bible version.

What else is new

Manage speakers

You can now organize your speakers from the More screen. Browse and search through the full list of Relays linked to each speaker (the sermons or lessons they’ve delivered). You can also remove existing speakers and create new ones.

(Support for speaker avatar uploads is coming soon.)

Tip: If your pastor introduces himself at the start of a sermon and you leave the speaker field blank, Velora will automatically add his name to the Relay during post-processing.

Performance enhancements and bug fixes

• Improvements to post-Relay uploading and processing

• Misc. bug fixes

Relay transcripts are now formatted into beautiful rich text, with content blocks custom-tailored for worship services! You can toggle between the list view transcript (a simple view with timestamps) and the new rich formatted view.

What’s new

Post-processing

At the conclusion of a Relay, processing and formatting begins automatically. Within a few minutes, here’s what you’ll see:

• Improved accuracy on the list transcript and reference timeline.

• If you haven’t entered a Relay title, Velora will add one based on the message.

• If you haven’t assigned a speaker, and if the speaker introduces himself during the message, Velora will automatically assign that speaker.

Formatted transcript

Formatting elements include:

• Paragraph text with embedded references (tappable to open their detail screen)

• Headings, subheadings, and bullet points

• Block quotes with intelligent labeling (opening prayer, Scripture reading, benediction, song lyrics, etc.)

• Highlights (large pull-quotes highlighting gems of your pastor’s wisdom)

• Suggested verse callouts (displaying reasoning for why the verse fits with the message, tappable to open the reference detail screen)

• Special indication for when Velora detects congregational singing

Performance enhancements

• References reviewed for accuracy upon completion of a Relay

• New bottom tab icons

• Improved performance and smoother animations when changing tabs while on a past Relay screen

Relay transcripts now display inline Bible references! Tapping a reference opens a detail view that displays the passage in your selected translation, a context line explaining why Velora identified it with this part of the message, sharing, and feedback buttons.

What’s new

View Bible references throughout the transcript in real-time and after the Relay

As you Relay during a sermon, Bible references now populate the transcript view in real-time, using our color system to indicate the type of reference (direct reference, turn-to request, quote, or smart suggestion).

References will appear above transcript parts or “utterances,” allowing you to easily see where they fit without interrupting the readability of the message.

Open a detail view of each reference

When you tap on a reference (either inline or from the timeline view), a new detail screen opens revealing the passage itself in your selected translation. This offers you an “intermediate step” for quickly viewing the passage before you might choose to open it in the Bible reader (coming soon).

This screen also displays an AI-generated “context line,” intended to either summarize the passage or offer context for why it was identified with a certain part of the message. You can offer feedback on how accurate the reference was to the message by tapping the thumbs up or thumbs down buttons, helping us to improve the accuracy of our Relay engine over time!

You can copy the passage or tap Share to message or email it to a friend. The bookmark button will allow you to quickly save the passage for reading later.

Performance enhancements and bug fixes

• Transcription parts and reference timeline post-processing for accuracy

• Transcriber optimizations for better real-time accuracy

• Graceful network issue handling

• Miscellaneous bug fixes