Why voice is paramount in the age of AI 

In a world of taps, swipes and instant replies, voice stands apart in communications. For all the advances in chat, email and bots, people turn to voice when it really matters, whether frustrated, confused or in need of real empathy. 

 

As customer experiences converge across channels, agentic AI is reshaping voice from a reactive support channel into a proactive intelligent partner. Now, businesses aren’t limited to hearing “what was said” and can now understand how it was said and, just as importantly, why. 

 

 

The preferred channel for customer service

Today’s ‘experience economy’ is defined not by what customers buy, but how they feel in every interaction with a brand. That’s why getting the customer’s experience right is more important than ever. 

 

Unlike text-based channels, voice captures tone, pace, urgency and emotion, all the cues that reveal how a customer really feels. That’s why voice is often the first choice when customers seek empathy, reassurance or real-time problem resolution and brands that offer voice interactions are seen as more empathetic, more responsive and more trustworthy.  

 

In fact, 77% of all customer interactions either start in voice or eventually escalate to it. When it matters most, people still prefer to pick up the phone. Voice has long been underutilised due to challenges in real time analysis and scalability. With AI, this is changing quickly. 

 

As organisations converge experiences across channels, voice data can fuel smarter self-service, contextual chatbots and more seamless handoffs, ensuring customers never feel they’re starting over when they switch modes. 

 

 

How agentic AI transforms voice into action  

Agentic AI doesn’t just listen, it acts. Earlier systems could only record and transcribe calls, but agentic AI follows the flow of a conversation, picking up on tone, intent and emotional cues as they happen. This helps businesses act in the moment by escalating frustrated callers, fast-tracking urgent requests and giving agents tailored responses that make customers feel heard.   

 

Crucially, agentic AI can carry out tasks autonomously across workflows. AI-powered receptionists for example, can handle calls around the clock, booking appointments, answering questions and routing calls in real time. They adapt to each customer’s needs with natural, multilingual conversations, ensuring no opportunity is missed.

 

For SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses), this is a significant advantage. Staff are freed from routine administration, and employees can focus on the work they were hired to do, while AI ensures the flow of calls, appointments and information never stops. 

 

 

Better outcomes through voice-first AI platforms

Voice conversations are a goldmine of unfiltered feedback, giving businesses a direct line into what matters most to customers. With AI, this information is no longer trapped in recordings or support tickets. Instead, it becomes actionable intelligence that improves products, services and customer experiences in real time. 

 

These insights don’t stay siloed. In a converged customer journey, they flow into digital self-service, chatbots and even marketing strategies, creating more consistent and personalised interactions across every channel.

 

These capabilities are now accessible to businesses of all sizes, not just enterprises. A healthcare clinic can use an AI Receptionist to schedule appointments after hours while flagging urgent patient concerns for staff review the next morning. A plumbing company can rely on AI to capture job details when no one is available to answer the phone, automatically syncing those details into the company’s calendar so staff arrive with full context. By autonomously handling workflows, this removes the need for technical overhead or large teams. 

 

 

Voice as the thread across workflows

Businesses that embrace voice as a strategic channel, enhanced by agentic AI, will build stronger relationships by being more responsive and empathetic. They also free up employees to focus on meaningful work, while turning everyday conversations into insights that drive smarter decisions and long-term growth. 

 

The bigger picture is that agentic AI doesn’t only elevate voice, but coordinates actions across workflows, weaving together scheduling, support, sales and marketing into one continuous loop. In a market where customer loyalty is increasingly defined by experience, the businesses that decode and act on voice insights will outpace competitors in empathy, efficiency, and innovation.

 

As customer journeys converge across channels, voice becomes the common thread, ensuring that insights and empathy flow seamlessly from one touchpoint to the next, creating experiences that feel effortless and truly connected.

 

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Akshay Srivastava is Executive Vice President & General Manager, Go to Market at RingCentral

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Jacob Wackerhausen