Unlocking the power of speech to humanise AI-driven customer experiences

AI stacks are evolving from essential question-and-response platforms to dynamic, outcome-driven systems capable of driving impact throughout the customer journey. 

The question is no longer about whether brands should adopt AI but how to harness its power to build trust and foster deeper relationships. The proof is in the pudding; based on a recent study conducted by Google and IPOS, 74% of AI users in Australia are already using it for work. Globally, brands with mature digital engagement have reported a 123% increase in revenue. However, most are merely scratching the surface of AI's transformative potential.

Given that the majority of consumers are willing to spend more money for a customised experience, how can brands better reap ROIs from AI and leverage innovation to take personalisation to the next level without draining the coffers?

Bolstering efficiency and savings in the agentic workforce

Relationships thrive on meaningful conversations—something most chatbots, often serving as temporary stopgaps, struggle to deliver. These bots rely on scripted responses, which limit their ability to foster genuine human interaction.

Conversational AI bridges this gap by using advanced Multimodal Large Language Models (LLM) to generate complex, context-aware responses and understand user intent. Unlike basic chatbots, it can handle extended interactions such as rescheduling tickets or facilitating product returns. Conversational AI can also serve as a sales assistant that can guide customers to the right products—replacing traditional e-commerce search categories and reducing unnecessary steps in the purchasing process. It can reason with customers, recall past interactions, and deliver tailored responses while being available 24/7 to resolve issues promptly and efficiently without human intervention. As a result, contact centres can offload tasks typically handled by human agents, significantly optimising resources and reducing operational costs. 

For an insurance company, an AI agent can revolutionise the claims process by answering customer enquiries, providing real-time claim updates, and guiding customers through each step with a tone that conveys reassurance and clarity. Using conversational language that mimics natural speech patterns can make customers feel heard and understood—which is key to building trust. 

However, AI agents are not a silver bullet that can solve all customer experience woes; their efficiency still depends on having a robust data foundation. When agents use incomplete or inconsistent information with customers, it often leads to confusion, missed opportunities for meaningful connections, and impersonal or disjointed experiences. High-quality, clean and accurate data leads to better AI models that can understand and respond accurately to user enquiries. Consolidating data from various sources into a centralised repository that captures all touchpoints and interactions with a brand's products or services provides a more comprehensive view of AI models to deliver personalised and contextually relevant responses. One such solution is Twilio Segment, which creates 'golden customer profiles' that integrate individual customer data, including preferences, purchase history, and demographic details, into a unified view. As they can better understand the context, these agents can offer faster resolutions—assisting with completing a purchase, suggesting alternative products, or addressing concerns that may have led to cart abandonment. 

Ongoing data maintenance and refinement are essential to ensure that the data ecosystem remains adaptable and continuously improves. This enables brands to deliver consistent, accurate, and meaningful customer interactions grounded in the proper context.

Natural-sounding bots for seamless interactions with customers and prospects

Globally, several people still prefer to interact with real humans. Based on a survey from KPMG, the lack of human interaction is among the three top concerns for consumers in Asia Pacific.

While comfort levels with AI bots are not fully established yet, it's only a matter of time. Similar to how initial scepticism around IVR systems eventually became widespread acceptance globally, people are likely to grow more comfortable with AI chatbots if they see how they are becoming more conversational, intuitive, and adept at understanding nuanced customer needs. 

Humanising chatbots has long been the holy grail of AI-driven customer support, but recent advancements are turning this vision into reality. For instance, Twilio's ConversationRelay handles complex aspects of voice interaction, including converting speech to text (STT) and text to speech (TTS), emphasising low-latency responses. By handling interruptions and maintaining conversational pacing, ConversationRelay helps prevent awkward pauses, resulting in more fluid chatbot interactions.

Leveraging AI, brands can create IVR flows with synthetic agents capable of handling routine enquiries using natural, contextually aware responses. They can even build custom AI voices modelled after real support agents to create a smoother transition between virtual and human interactions. This approach provides a more personalised customer experience, as the AI voice closely resembles the brand's actual support staff rather than sounding like a generic automated response. 

For example, suppose a customer needs to speak with a live agent. In that case, the AI agent can collect relevant details, such as the nature of the issue or account information, before transferring the call. This allows the human agent to pick up where the AI agent left off, reducing wait times and avoiding the need for customers to repeat themselves—all while preserving the same conversational tone and continuity in the interaction.

With the proper infrastructure, AI-driven customer experiences can become brands' competitive advantage in 2025. Integrating solutions like Twilio's Voice capabilities with ConversationRelay and Segment allows brands to eliminate friction in chatbot interactions and deliver hyper-personalised experiences at scale. This translates to increased responsiveness, enhanced cost efficiency, and more meaningful customer engagement, ultimately enabling brands to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Join Twilio's upcoming webinar, Forge: ConversationRelay, to learn more about how you can use AI bots to supercharge customer service. You can also read more about how Twilio brings Data and AI together with this guide on customer support.