Topic
voice ai
Technology Nobody Wants to Wait on Hold Anymore: Can AI Replace Customer Care in India's BPO Industry?
AI-powered chatbots and voice assistants are rapidly taking over routine customer service tasks in India's BPO industry, offering faster responses and lower costs. According to Gartner, 85% of customer service leaders are exploring or deploying AI chatbots, and by 2029, AI could autonomously resolve nearly 80% of common issues. However, complex queries requiring empathy and judgment still require human agents, as illustrated by a customer's frustrating experience with an AI voice assistant. The shift is redefining jobs, skills, and data privacy.
Technology Founders from Goldman and Meta build voice AI for Africa and Middle East markets
AethexAI, a startup founded by former Goldman Sachs and Meta employees, has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding to build voice AI for customer service in Africa and the Middle East. The company uses its own small models (Kora series) to handle local dialects of English, French, and Arabic, addressing latency and accuracy issues plaguing larger models in these regions. It currently processes over 17,000 calls per day.