New Voices

AI comes for telemarketing:

TechSport reports that new AI-powered voice technology, developed by Palo Alto-based startup Sanas, analyzes speech input and modifies it to match a specified accent while preserving the speaker’s original voice and emotion. The system employs advanced speech recognition algorithms to transcribe spoken words into text, accounting for various accents and speech patterns. It then applies AI models trained on datasets of various accents to modify the voice, adjusting intonation, stress patterns, and phoneme pronunciation to align with the target accent. Teleperformance Deputy Chief Executive Officer Thomas Mackenbrock explained the benefits of the technology, stating, “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard to hear, to understand. [This technology can] neutralize the accent of the Indian speaker with zero latency, [creates] more intimacy, increases the customer satisfaction, and reduces the average handling time.” The accent translation technology is part of Teleperformance’s larger AI investment strategy, with plans to invest up to $104 million in AI partnerships in 2025. The company’s focus on using AI to enhance its workforce of 490,000 employees comes as a response to the challenges posed by the rise of AI chatbots in the call center industry.

It could replace them to be more convenient...