AI has already started replacing voice agents’ jobs. Now, companies are exploring ways to replace the existing computer-generated voice models with synthetic versions of human voices. Truecaller, the widely known caller ID service, is the latest to take this approach with its announcement that it will now allow customers to use its AI-powered Assistant to answer phone calls in their own voice.
The new experience comes via a partnership with Microsoft that allows the Swedish company to use the Redmond giant’s Personal Voice technology, introduced in November as part of Azure AI Speech.
By using Microsoft’s Personal Voice, Truecaller’s Assistant, available to paid users, will be able to replicate users’ voices in order to greet and respond to callers. This is in addition to the preset system-generated voice options available to users through the digital assistance feature that helps answer phone calls for you, screen unknown calls, take messages, respond on your behalf or even record the call for your later viewing.
Truecaller users need to record a script of a few seconds in their own voice to create a digital copy after giving their consent. This allows the Assistant to start answering calls in the digital version of your voice.
Typically, Truecaller’s Assistant provides an option to edit the introductory greeting template for callers. However, Truecaller confirmed to TechCrunch that it has restricted the greeting template if you use your personal voice instead of a system-generated one. This is designed to make it clear that callers are hearing a “digital” version of the user’s voice.
Nonetheless, the follow-up responses can be customized based on user preferences. Azure AI Speech’s personal voice feature, which is available in limited registration-only access, also adds watermarks to the speech outputs it creates to let a detector tool identify synthetic audio.
“We firmly believe that the personal voice feature will revolutionize the way our users manage their calls and elevate their overall experience with Truecaller Assistant. We look forward to further exploring the potential of AI-powered voice technologies in partnership with Microsoft and delivering even more innovative solutions to our global user base,” said Raphael Mimoun, product director and general manager, Truecaller Israel, in a statement.
The personal voice feature on Truecaller’s Assistant will be rolling out over the next few weeks, starting with the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, Sweden, and Chile. It will initially be available to public beta users and later to all users in the eligible markets.