The value of a human call centre agent can never be underestimated for consumer-facing businesses. But a thick accent can damage that experience. French call-centre provider Teleperformance SE has partnered with Sanas, a provider of speech understanding technology, to solve this issue.
The result of a $13 million partnership investment, TP and Sanas provide a “real-time speech understanding platform.” It uses accent-softening technology to dial down Indian and other accents to something more in tune with Western (or global) ears.
The company provides call centre operations for global giants like Apple, Samsung, and TikTok. Anyone who has had to use their support, or that of a similarly large brand, has likely struggled to engage an agent with a dense accent.
The software can also reduce background noise, ideal when your agent sounds like they are working in a Filippino nail bar. Take note, O2!
Sanas’s AI can tune the accent to one that is more understandable, improving clarity of communication. That’s critical when human call centres compete with a growing army of AI bot rivals, and providers can’t afford to hire western agent talent.
The agents can deliver just as much emotional intelligence and build empathy-driven connections with their customers as a western counterpart, with added clarity through the software. It should be a good few years before an AI can deliver any level of real emotion.
The changing tone of call centres
If you value the human touch in your customer care calls, then tweaked voices, and background noise reduction, will help make agents’ roles easier. Clearer voices will encourage more consumers to talk to them, and increase satisfied customer outcomes
“We believe that care is inherently human-to-human,” said Sharath Keshava Narayana, President and CoFounder of Sanas. “Our partnership with TP is a testament to Sanas’ mission of empowering human connections. By combining TP’s expertise with our Speech AI platform, we are strengthening the relationship between customers and agents while scaling it at an unprecedented level.”
The move is part of a growing AI investment for TP, as highlighted below, competing with AI-only rivals in an increasingly crowded customer service agent market.
If consumers only notice the benefits of this change in tone of voice, and there’s no warbling between the original and enhanced accent, it should improve the quality of service. When it comes to competing with the likes of NVIDIA/ServiceNow’s AI agents, TP should remain ahead for some time to come