The development of different types of AI functionality is advancing at a rapid pace – and in telephony and customer service, Voice-AI is a hot topic that is being developed on a broad front by several players. The ability to integrate AI-powered voice assistants into their infrastructure improves business availability, reduces waiting times and helps optimize their use of resources – without compromising the customer experience. But why now? And what does it mean in practice? We spoke to Henrik Thorvinger, Product Design Director at Telavox, about how Voice AI can change the way we interact with businesses and services.
Voice-controlled AI – from frustration to value-adding technology
Voice-activated AI has been around for many years, but technical limitations have previously created skepticism about using a voice-based agent in a customer service context. Early chatbots often failed to understand languages and dialects, resulting in frustration instead of being helpful. AI functionality was also limited in what tasks it could actually perform.
“A few years ago, everyone was talking about AI for customer service, but the technology wasn’t ready. It was hard to even get through a queue if you said a word in an unexpected way. Today it works – and can really benefit both businesses and customers,” says Henrik Thorvinger, Product Design Director at Telavox.
The big change lies in AI’s ability to understand and generate natural speech at a level previously unthinkable. In addition, major players such as OpenAI and Google have improved their voice models, making them faster and more responsive, which means that a voice-based AI assistant can now provide real-time answers based on the caller’s questions or requests. Businesses can now offer AI-generated answers to customers without having to change their behavior – they can continue to call in as usual.
“Customers don’t need to change their information-seeking behavior or adapt to a new communication channel. They can continue to call as usual, but now with the possibility to get help directly from AI – and avoid standing in a queue.” explains Henrik.
The AI has now also become smarter and you can make sure it performs desirable tasks, such as transferring calls or completing a booking. This generates strong value for both customers and business owners.
How AI can improve the availability of your customer service
One of the most exciting aspects of Voice AI is how it can make services more accessible to more people.
“For thousands of years, we humans have communicated through speech – but only a fraction of that time have we had a written language. Voice AI brings back the natural way of interacting with businesses through conversation,” says Henrik Thorvinger.
This opens up new possibilities, especially for the elderly and people who have difficulty or do not want to navigate a digital interface. Instead of having to click through to a website, they can simply ask their questions verbally or book appointments over the phone as they are used to – and get answers instantly, at any time of day.
“I’m used to searching for information online, but I find it incredibly liberating to be able to use speech to get answers to my questions. It means I can steer the conversation in the direction I want – and ask the questions that come up during the conversation, just like when I walk into a store and ask a salesperson about a product.” explains Henrik.
An AI receptionist to join your team
As a telecom operator, we at Telavox have the advantage of already owning the entire infrastructure of calls, switchboard and queue management. This means that our future AI receptionist can be integrated directly into our existing system as a natural part of telephony. Our AI will be able to answer common questions, handle bookings and, if necessary, transfer to a human agent. Combining automated and human service creates a more efficient and accessible customer experience.
“In practice, this means you don’t have to choose one or the other. Business owners can start at the pace they feel comfortable with and gradually build trust in their AI receptionist to deliver a positive customer experience. For example, AI can be an alternative to the phone queue, while the caller keeps your place in the queue. AI can also start as an alternative during evenings and nights when it is normally closed.” says Henrik.
A business can choose to use the AI receptionist as a choice or first point of contact, filtering out the simplest queries – such as opening hours, address details or booking requests – reducing the burden on human customer service agents.
“Half of calls can be answered before they even arrive. By giving customers the opportunity to get answers while they’re on hold, we can improve the service experience and take the pressure off staff. For smaller businesses such as a hairdresser, car mechanic or restaurant, this can mean a lot – being able to focus on their task while AI handles the calls for them, while making sure they don’t miss out on new business.” says Henrik.
What’s next for AI in customer service?
We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution. Right now, a fraction of all customer calls are AI-powered – but what will it look like in five years?
“Things are moving fast, and we will see a gradual increase in AI taking over more and more tasks. If we reach 30% of calls handled by AI within a few years, that would be a huge change,” says Henrik Thorvinger.
Telavox plans to continue developing its AI receptionist with more features and integrations. Among other things, it is exploring the possibility of allowing customers to choose voices, as well as making the AI even more context-aware.
“We want companies to be able to use our out-of-the-box AI capabilities, but also to be able to integrate their own solutions, depending on their industry and needs. This is a journey, and we are just at the beginning.”
Dare to test – a call to action for businesses
For those companies still hesitant to implement Voice AI, Henrik Thorvinger has clear advice:
“Dare to test! You don’t have to make a big investment from the start. Start small, perhaps with an AI receptionist available only at night when you are usually closed, and evaluate the responses and customer experience. The technology is mature, and the opportunity to offer better service at lower cost has never been greater.”
The future of customer service isn’t about replacing people – it’s about augmenting them. Voice AI is here to stay, and the companies that start exploring the technology today will have a major competitive advantage tomorrow.
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