Rising Trends: Indian Voice AI Startups Transforming Customer Experience

Increasing Demand for Conversational AI

Indian voice artificial intelligence startups are attracting significant interest as the demand for conversational AI services rises, particularly in customer service and call centers. This trend follows successful experimental pilots transitioning into full-time projects, with experts noting improvements in model reliability and accuracy.

Surge in Investor Interest

Investor interest is also on the rise. According to data from Venture Intelligence, venture capital investment in voice technology startups soared to $202 million in 2024 across 12 deals, a drastic increase from $7 million in 2023. As of April 16, 2024, $19 million has been invested in voice AI startups, with significant funding going to companies like Gnani.ai, Myelin Foundry, and Nurix AI.

Market Growth Projections

The Indian conversational AI market, valued at $516.8 million in 2024, is projected to exceed $4.9 billion by 2033, according to market research firm IMARC Group.

Key Use Cases for Voice AI

Several sectors are rapidly adopting voice AI, including ecommerce, contact centers, and banking and financial services. Experts highlight that, unlike other countries, India represents a voice-first market, with many consumers preferring to engage verbally.

Consumer Preferences

Indians often express themselves better through audio and video. “When you call a call center, you expect to engage in a natural voice,” stated Mitesh Agarwal, director of customer engineering at Google Cloud. This preference underscores the significant developments made in conversational technology over the past year.

Advancements in Text-to-Speech Technology

“The biggest advancement has been in text-to-speech technology, where we see models that sound incredibly natural,” said Chaitanya Chokkareddy, co-founder and chief technology officer of Ozonetel Communications. This improvement enhances customer acceptance of AI interactions.

Reliability of AI Models

AI models have become more reliable, and the issue of “hallucination” — where responses are false or misleading — has reached an acceptable range, according to Chokkareddy. This applies to both large language models and speech recognition systems.

Beyond Customer Support

Ozonetel is venturing into conversational analytics, which leverages AI to extract insights from calls, alleviating the challenge for humans who cannot listen to thousands of calls. This innovative approach optimizes the process significantly.

Innovative Applications in Customer Engagement

Sanjay Varnwal, co-founder and CEO of Spyne, highlighted the use of voice models to replicate agents’ voices for scheduling customer test drives. This exemplifies how startups are creatively using technology to enhance customer relationships.

Gnani.ai’s Groundbreaking Developments

Gnani.ai has innovatively developed AI agents to handle loan defaults, conversing with customers in their native languages about payment due dates. Co-founder Ganesh Gopalan noted that the company first launched this service in collaboration with TVS Credit in 2019 and now serves over 100 clients, including banks and gold loan companies.

Diverse Applications and Language Support

Gnani.ai also focuses on marketing and lead generation, with approximately 95% of its business stemming from voice interactions. The platform supports 12 Indian languages, catering to a diverse audience.

Collaboration with Major Enterprises

According to Google’s Agarwal, the varied use cases for voice AI range from ecommerce and customer support to internal employee and finance applications. Google has collaborated with high-profile clients such as ICICI Bank, Flipkart, Myntra, and MakeMyTrip in deploying these technologies.

Challenges in Voice AI Technology

Despite the growing adoption of voice AI, challenges persist. One of the primary concerns is ensuring the voice sounds natural, simulating human interactions effectively. “If users can recognize the voice as a bot, they are likely to drop off,” noted Abhishek Upperwal, founder of Soket AI Labs, emphasizing the importance of voice authenticity.

The Competitive Landscape

The voice AI space in India is becoming increasingly crowded, with numerous startups emerging in this domain. While traction is building, the technology is not yet flawless, especially concerning Indic languages, where AI struggles with aspects like empathy and prosodic features.

The Future of Call Centers

Concerns have been raised about call center jobs being displaced by AI; however, Agarwal clarified that the aim is not to eliminate jobs. Instead, AI can help manage peak call volumes during significant events without the need for massive staffing increases. “AI can provide a solution during high-demand periods,” he explained.