Teleperformance is rolling out an AI solution that neutralizes English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time.
The accent translation technology – alongside background noise cancellation – is being implemented in Teleperformance’s call centers across India.
Across its global operations, Teleperformance delivers customer service outsourcing for the likes of Apple, TikTok, Samsung, and many other prominent global brands.
While the move aims to make “agents more understandable”, questions have been raised about its ethics.
Nevertheless, Thomas Mackenbrock, Deputy CEO of Teleperformance, said in an interview with Bloomberg: “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard to hear, to understand.”
The technology is hoped to “neutralize the accent of the Indian speaker with zero latency,” Mackenbrock explained. “This creates more intimacy, increases customer satisfaction, and reduces the average handling time: it is a win-win for both parties.”
Teleperformance has partnered with Sanas to deploy the technology, reportedly paying $13MN earlier this year to implement it.
Unethical or Practical Sense?
Naturally, questions about ethics are swirling. ABC7 has historically cited critics of the tech who suggested it’s “playing into racism.”
However, Sanas, the developer of the AI software, rebuked these claims.
According to the Sanas website, it developed the technology to “reduce accent-based discrimination.”
The technology currently supports Indian and Filipino accents and is being adapted for other regions, such as Latin America, where many Teleperformance employees assist U.S.-based customers.
“AI will be ubiquitous; it is already today,” Mackenbrock said. “But to build connections, customer experience, branding awareness, the human element will be incredibly important.”
Ethical or Not, Most Big BPOs Are Implementing the Technology
While the move from Teleperformance may have raised an eyebrow, it isn’t the only customer service BPO that has leveraged the technology.
Last year, CX Today reported that 12 of the top 20 customer service BPOs have partnered with Sanas to use real-time accent translation technology to improve customer interactions.
At the time, the tech provider highlighted how its innovation has led to significant benefits, including reduced agent turnover, enhanced customer satisfaction, and increased efficiency in call handling.
Interestingly, Sanas also suggests that its real-time accent translation technology offers many more benefits, with users reporting:
- 8-12 percent reductions in average handling time (AHT)
- 14-15 percent increases in first call resolution (FCR)
- Up to 20 percent gains in customer satisfaction (CSAT)
- A 17 percent uplift in sales conversion rates
Moreover, while some critics argue that the technology perpetuates bias, proponents highlight its positive impact on agents’ well-being and job satisfaction.
The technology also shows potential for broader applications, such as real-time speech correction.
In addition to Sanas, Krisp offers a similar product for BPOs. It demoed its technology with CX Today last year, as shown below.
More on Agent Well-Being & the Tech’s Future
It should come as no surprise that Krisp shares Sanas’s view of the ethics involved with this technology.
Davit Baghdasaryan, Co-Founder & CEO of Krisp, argued that maximizing voice productivity in businesses such as BPOs is essential and, that the “accent barrier is one of the barriers people have in communication,“ and that removing the barrier entirely will “positively impact a lot of people.“
Baghdasaryan also expanded on the benefits for contact center agents.
CX Today heard: “If we think about how call centers are designed, there are training sessions to eliminate accent or improve accent, which is stressful for many agents.“
Since the interview with Baghdasaryan, Krisp has taken the technology further, introducing “real-time accent smoothing”.
For more on this next evolution for the tech, check out the article: Real-Time Translation, Accent Smoothing & AI Agents
