AI helps call center employees to speak without an accent in real time

English is also spoken in India and Asia, but sometimes it takes a while to get used to the accent and the different intonation. Customers of call center operators such as Teleperformance who employ staff there also have this problem. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), the accents of these employees are now filtered in real time during the call and changed to accent-free speech. This so-called 'accent neutralization' is intended to ensure that employees are better understood by customers.

Teleperformance is the world's largest call center operator and wants to use it to improve its service. AI is threatening the existence of traditional call centers. Almost a year ago, payment service provider Klarna declared that AI technology was already handling two thirds of all service requests there. The technology is already doing the work of 700 full-time employees. The success of Klarna's AI assistant caused the call center group's shares to plummet. This is because Teleperformance employs around half a million people worldwide whose jobs are at risk due to AI.

However, Teleperformance now wants to use AI itself and gain an advantage. To this end , the call center group has invested USD 13 million in Sanas, a Californian start-up. Sanas has developed an AI system that softens accents in real time while filtering out background noise. According to Teleperformance, clearer English in call center conversations should lead to increased customer satisfaction. At the same time, call times should be shortened and solutions found more quickly, meaning that fewer follow-up calls are required, for example.

AI also planned for other languages

Strategically, Teleperformance does not want to shut itself off from AI, but is focusing on the human element when communicating with customers. With the help of AI, this should become similar to conversations with neighbors. This is why the French call center group plans to invest up to 100 million euros in AI partnerships such as with Sanas in 2025, according to Teleperformance's latest financial report. According to Bloomberg, the company operates call centers for Apple, TikTok and Samsung, for example, but also for VW Bank in the UK. However, Teleperformance has not yet explained which customers use the AI technology in its call centers.

Although Teleperformance cites the Indian accent of call center employees as an example of accent neutralization, it also mentions English-speaking employees in the Philippines, Latin America, Africa and Asia, whose speech is to be improved with the help of AI. According to the company, however, this is just the beginning. In the coming months and years, Sanas plans to expand the AI technology to other languages, including German, as Teleperformance explains in a video.

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