These execs think voice AI hasn’t reached its ChatGPT moment yet

Industry leaders say voice technology has not yet reached its defining mainstream breakthrough, despite billions of dollars in investments and a steady stream of new software releases. Speaking at the HumanX conference, PolyAI Chief Technology Officer Shawn Wen explained that while developers have successfully built full-duplex systems capable of speaking and listening simultaneously, the software still needs faster reasoning speeds to make conversations feel natural.

Wen noted that customer service agents must avoid sounding robotic and instead build caller confidence. Otter Chief Marketing Officer Alex Gay added that accurate speaker identification, intent capture, and emotional expression remain essential for moving beyond basic question-and-answer chatbots. Both executives emphasized that technical flaws in underlying transcription software continue to hinder reliability.

Wen pointed out that automatic speech recognition models frequently miss critical keywords, destroying the context of a conversation. Gay warned that inaccurate initial transcriptions ruin all subsequent productivity actions, which quickly erodes user trust in the platform. To build that trust, both companies stressed the importance of transparency in customer communications.

Wen and Gay stated that tools should always clearly inform users when they are speaking to artificial intelligence or having their conversations recorded.