What is AI calling?
AI calling refers to phone calls, either placed or answered, that are carried out by an AI voice agent instead of a human, using voice AI to understand and respond to the conversation in real time.
Outbound and inbound AI calling
Outbound AI calling means the system places calls to a list of contacts, commonly used for sales outreach, follow up, or reminders. Inbound AI calling means the system answers calls coming in, commonly used for support or scheduling. Both rely on the same underlying voice AI technology.
How it differs from older automated calling
Older automated calling, like robocalls or IVR systems, plays pre recorded messages or follows a rigid menu of options. AI calling instead holds a genuine, adaptive conversation, understanding what the person actually says rather than just recognizing a limited set of expected inputs.
Common uses in business
AI calling is used for sales prospecting, lead follow up, appointment reminders, customer surveys, payment reminders, and more, anywhere a business needs to reach a large number of people by phone consistently and quickly.
Frequently asked
AI calling is legal, though like any calling activity it's subject to relevant telemarketing and consent regulations depending on your region and use case.
More in What is
An AI voice agent is software that can hold a spoken phone conversation on its own, understanding what a person says and responding naturally, without a human on the line. It listens, thinks about what to say next, and speaks back, all in something close to real time.
An AI phone agent is a piece of software that makes or answers real phone calls and carries the conversation itself, using AI to understand what's being said and decide how to respond, without a person picking up the phone.
Voice AI is the broader category of technology that lets software understand and produce human speech. It's the combination of pieces, speech recognition, language understanding, and speech generation, that makes something like an AI voice agent possible.
Hear AI calling on a real conversation.
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