Tomato.ai’s accent softening model revolutionizes call centers
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — Startup firm Tomato.ai recently launched a groundbreaking zero-shot machine learning model designed to soften accents in real-time for call center agents.
This innovative technology aims to enhance communication and trust between agents and customers, particularly in offshore call centers.
Empowering human agents with AI
Tomato.ai CEO Ofer Ronen, who has a background in contact center AI from his time at Google, identified a significant opportunity to leverage AI to assist human agents rather than replace them.
“We saw that there was an opportunity to use AI to help humans and give them superpowers,” he said. The new model can be installed on lower-end PCs in just five minutes, requiring no complex integrations, which was a key priority for Ronen.
Zero-shot learning adapting to new speakers
The zero-shot learning capabilities of Tomato.ai’s model allow it to adapt to new speakers without any warm-up period.
“As you start speaking, it just does the right thing without needing to warm up,” Ronen noted.
This technology addresses a critical pain point for many offshore call centers in countries like India, the Philippines, and Pakistan, which often struggle to match the performance metrics of their onshore counterparts.
By enabling agents to communicate more effectively with customers, these centers may be able to close the performance gap and secure more business. The global call center market is expected to reach $496 billion by 2027, driven by the increasing adoption of AI and automation technologies.
With its innovative accent softening solution, Tomato.ai is well-positioned to capture a significant share of this growing market.
Ethical considerations
Despite its potential to improve call center performance, the technology raises ethical questions around cultural sensitivity and potential bias.
Ronen emphasized the company’s commitment to maintaining speakers’ identities and providing different levels of accent softening to give users more control.
“We believe in giving options to folks. And so if one model might work better for a use case, or a person, they could have more of an American accent or more of a blend of their original and American.”
Continued innovation in call centers
Tomato.ai is part of a broader trend of companies innovating in the call center industry. Another tech startup, Sanas, previously created an accent conversion technology that is set to revolutionize millions of Filipino and Indian call center jobs.
The real-time technology can turn heavy Indian or Filipino accents into an American accent and is activated with a simple on-off button with zero audible lag.
Meanwhile, telecom provider SoftBank is currently testing AI-enabled software that softens the tone of customers’ voices to help call center workers deal with irate customers.
This technology aims to foster positive customer relationships through effective communication while safeguarding the psychological well-being of call center employees.
As AI continues to transform the call center industry, companies like Tomato.ai are leading the way with innovative solutions that improve communication and support the well-being of call center agents. Balancing efficiency with cultural sensitivity will be crucial for the long-term success of these technologies.
