2026AI语音谁将掌控对话研究报告

Research

CPaaSAAResearchisproducedby,andrepresentstheviewsof,theCPaaSAAteam

ABSTRACT

AIVoiceunlocksthe“darkdata”incallsandextendstheambitionofIntelligentEngagement:

coordinated,real-timeinteractionacrosscustomers,partnersandworkforce.Earlydeploymentsalreadyshowmeasurablebusinessimpact,includingoperationaltimesavingsof30%ormoreandbookingor

conversionimprovementsofuptothreefoldinsomeAI-assistedinteractions.

Asconversationsbecomecomputable,valueshiftsawayfromcallvolumeandtowardswhatisunderstood,decidedandactedon,andtheprofitpoolincommunicationswillshiftfromcarryinginteractionsto

orchestratingtheintelligencethatrunsthem.Governinghowconversationsareexecuted,i.e.howdataflows,howmodelsareapplied,andhowoutcomesaredelivered,willshapewherevalueaccumulatesinthenextphaseofenterprisecommunications.Connectivityremainsessential,butthevalueofcommunicationsis

shiftingfromtransporttointelligence.

ThisreportdrawsonCPaaSAA’scasedirectory,industryinterviews,andsecondaryresearch,providingan

evidence-basedviewofhowenterprisesarebeginningtodeployAIVoice.Itprovidesanoverviewofthe

emergingAIVoicemarketandexaminesthestrategicchoicesfacingIntelligentEngagementplayersas

conversationalAIbecomesembeddedacrosscommunicationsplatforms,enterpriseworkflowsandtelecomnetworks.

Published:March2026

AIVoice2026:WhoWillRunTheConversation?

CONTENTS

CONTENTS2

ABOUTTHISREPORT4

THECPAASACCELERATIONALLIANCE5

HOWTOREADTHISREPORT5

EXECUTIVESUMMARY6

KEYACTIONSFORINTELLIGENTENGAGEMENTPLAYERS7

CUSTOMERADOPTIONANDRISKS8

FORECOSYSTEMSTAKEHOLDERS:SOWHAT?9

CPAASAA’sACTIONS11

INTRODUCTIONTOAIVOICE12

WHATISAIVOICE?13

AIVOICEISACOMPONENTOFINTELLIGENTENGAGEMENT15

AIVoiceandConversationalIntelligence17

CallsandVoiceinContext18

WHYAIVOICEMATTERSTO-aaSPLAYERS&CSPS19

THEBUSINESSCASEFORAIVOICE20

WHATCANAIDOFORVOICE,ANDVOICEFORAI?20

AIVOICEIMPLEMENTATION:CASESTUDYEXAMPLES21

Transcription22

AIDialogue:AIVoicebecomesatwo-waycommunication22

AppointmentsandScheduling23

LeadQualification23

StreamliningProcesses24

CustomerExperience24

Compliance25

CaseStudyDistribution26

WorkforceimpactofAIVoiceadoption27

Beyondthecallitself27

BUSINESSBENEFITSOFAIVOICE28

CUSTOMERSANDSALESCHANNELS:MINDSETS&BUDGETS30

ETHICS,PRIVACYANDREGULATORYCOMPLIANCE32

WHENWILLTHEBENEFITSMATERIALISE?33

INDUSTRYECOSYSTEM&DYNAMICS34

AIVOICEECOSYSTEM34

RUNTIME:THECONTROLPOINTFORVALUE36

RecentMarketSignals37

ComputeLocationvsRuntimeOwnership37

FOURRUNTIMESCENARIOS:HOWBUSINESSESDECIDE38

IntelligentEngagementLedRuntime(CPaaS/CCaaS)39

Hyperscaler-LedRuntime40

Telco-IntegratedRuntime41

CPaaSAAResearch,March20262of72

AIVoice2026:WhoWillRunTheConversation?

CPaaSAAResearch,March20263of72

Enterprise-ControlledRuntime42

COMPETITIVERISKS43

SOVEREIGNTYANDSTRUCTURALTENSION44

EMERGINGREGULATORYQUESTIONSFORAIVOICE44

HYPERSCALERSTRATEGY:COMPONENTVS.PLATFORM45

APPLICATIONS:MANYHORSESFORMANYCOURSES46

AIVOICEADOPTION&FORECASTS48

AIVOICEADOPTION48

MARKETSIZE,GROWTHANDFORECASTS51

THEFOURVALUELAYERSOFAIVOICE52

Strategicimplications52

Howmightitplayout,ingeneral?52

INTELLIGENTENGAGEMENT:MARKETOPPORTUNITIES53

WHAT’SDRIVINGCUSTOMERADOPTIONTODAY?53

BUSINESSSEGMENTNEEDS53

VerticalSpecialisation:CreatingDefensibleUtility54

INDUSTRYNARRATIVEANDPACKAGING55

PLATFORMCHOICES&MODELNEUTRALITY56

TELCONETWORKAIVOICE57

AIineverycall57

Designandpricingconsiderations59

WhyitmatterswheretheintelligenceisorchestratedinTelcoNetworkAIVoice60

TelcoCallCentreAI60

ANALYTICS61

VCONS:CONTEXT,COMPLIANCEANDCOMPETITIVEADVANTAGE61

TRANSLATION65

BIOMETRICS&SENTIMENTANALYSIS66

CONCLUSIONS68

INTELLIGENTENGAGEMENTPLAYERSINANAIVOICEWORLD68

STRATEGICIMPERATIVESFORAIVOICESUCCESS69

THEBOTTOMLINE70

ASINCERENOTEOFTHANKS71

AIVoice2026:WhoWillRunTheConversation?

CPaaSAAResearch,March20264of72

ABOUTTHISREPORT

TheanalysisandtheviewsinthisreportaretheindependentworkoftheCPaaSAcceleration

Association(CPaaSAA),andwewouldliketothankallofourmembersfortheirsignificantinputandsupport.

Thereportwasresearchedandwritteninlate2025andearly2026byAndrewCollinson,AssociateResearchDirector,CPaaSAAandreviewedbyCPaaSAA’sPartners.

ANoteofThanks

ThisreportwouldnotbepossiblewithouttheinsightandcollaborationofCPaaSAAmembersandcontributorsacrosstheecosystem.Wearegratefultothemanyexecutives,productleadersandpractitionerswhosharedperspectives,casestudiesanddata.Theirinputstrengthensoursharedgoal:acceleratingIntelligentEngagementandensuringthisindustrycapturesthevalueithelps

create.

WearegratefulfortheadditionalsupportprovidedbyourAcceleratemembers:Infobip,KPN,Radisys,SinchandVonage.

Thereisafurtherlistof36peoplefromtheseandotherorganisations

here

whocontributedideas,insightsandinformation,towhomweextendoursincerethanks.

●Thereportisalsobasedonouranalysisof46AIVoicecustomercasestudiesdevelopedbynumerousmembersandecosystemplayers,whichshowreal-lifeapplicationsofthetechnologyandlistcustomeraccreditedbenefits.Someofthosecasesaresummarisedinthisreport.Theyareamongthe163casestudiesinourCaseDirectoryatMarch2026.

●AllinteractionswithCPaaSAA’s

members

werealsotakenintoconsideration,includingourNetworkAPIandAI&DataWorkingGroupmeetings,anddedicatedbriefingsandmeetings.

●Wealsocarriedoutextensivesecondaryresearch,andcitethefindingsofarangeofanalystcompanies,pressreleasesandothermarketarticles.WeusedseveralLLMstoassistinthis,includingdifferentinstancesofChatGPT,ClaudeandGemini,andcross-matchedourfindingswherepossible.

●Allofthediagramsandmostofthecopyinthisreportwerecreatedbytheauthor.WhereAI-Modelbasedresearchcopywasuseditwasmanuallyreviewedandre-writtenbytheauthorandreviewedbyatleastoneotherCPaaSAApartner.

WhilethisreportrepresentstheindependentviewoftheCPaaSAAteamwiththegoalofunitingandcatalysingtheindustrytofastergrowth,wehopeitdoesjusticetothevisionandeffortsofallofourmembers,andwelookforwardtofeedbackandfurtherdiscussions.

AIVoice2026:WhoWillRunTheConversation?

CPaaSAAResearch,March20265of72

THECPAASACCELERATIONALLIANCE

TheCPaaSAccelerationAlliance(CPaaSAA)istheglobalAllianceforintelligentengagement,connectinginnovatorsshapingthefutureofcommunicationsthroughAI,CPaaS,NetworkAPIs,andreal-timeplatforms.

CPaaSAA’smembersdon’tjustfollowtrends–theyshapethem.Fromtelcosandtechleaderstoplatformbuildersandscaleups,weunitepeopleredefininghowbusinessesengagewithcustomers.

Wehelpour

100+members

learnfrompeers,sharewhatworks,andleadthenextwaveoftransformation.Throughcuratedevents,practicalframeworks,anddeepindustrypartnerships,weturnconversationsintoco-creation–andvisionsintoventures.OurmembersspantraditionalCPaaSplayers,CCaaSandUCaaScompanies,telcos,techcos,analysts,consultantsandinvestors.

CPaaSAAResearch

Wepublishandprovideresearchservices,including:

●The

ServiceProviderPlaybook

-a‘howto’guideforserviceprovidersofferingCPaaS

●The

CPaaSAACaseDirectory

isaresourcebringingtogetherindustrycasestudiestohelpacceleratethemarket,examplesofwhichareshowninthisreport

●Reports,e.g.

○

IntelligentEngagement:HowAI,APIs&CPaaSChangeEnterpriseStrategy

○

TheStateofCPaaS2025

●CPaaSAAWorkingGroupWhitePapers

HOWTOREADTHISREPORT

●Highlevel‘skimanddip’readers:thenextsectionofthereportistheExecutiveSummary,highlightingkeyactionsandrecommendations,withreferencesandlinkstowhereyoucanfindthesupportingdetails.

●End-to-Endreaders:thereportiswrittensothatitcanbereadfromendtoend.

●Thefulltableofcontentsisonpage2.

AIVoice2026:WhoWillRunTheConversation?

CPaaSAAResearch,March20266of72

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

AIVOICE:FASTGROWTHANDSTRONGBENEFITS

AIVoiceunlocksthe“darkdata”incalls,andprovidesnewwaystoengagewithcustomersinthevisionofIntelligentEngagement-thebusinessaimtointeractwithcustomersinreal-timewith

intelligenceatscale.Earlydeploymentsalreadyshowmeasurablebusinessimpact,including30%+operationaltimesavings,bookingandconversionimprovementsofupto3×,withfurthergains

expectedasAIanalyticsandautomationareappliedtoconversationdata.

●Themarketisgrowingfast.CPaaSAAmembers

report

4-10Xyear-on-yeargrowthin2025-26inenterprisedemand,andanalystsforecastfive-yearCAGRsof16-38%.Interestisalsonewlystrongfromtelecomsoperatorsin“AIineverycall”-asevidencedatMWC26byDeutsche

TelekomandLGPlusandothers(see

TelcoNetworkAIVoice

section).AIVoicepresentsnewcategoryopportunitiesforTelecomsandIntelligentEngagementplayers.

●MarketPotential.Currenttotal“ConversationalAI”marketestimatesareorderofmagnitude~$10bn.AIVoicesitswithinthis,andinvaluepoolsexceeding$300bnacrosscustomercare,CRManddigitalengagement.Evenmodestparticipationintheseadjacentpoolsimplies

revenuepotentialmeasuredin$billions/tensofbillions.Weanticipatenewmarketdataandforecastsin2026asanalystscatchupwiththerateofchangeofthetechnologies.

●RecentMarketSignals.AnnouncementsatEnterpriseConnect2026furtherillustratethe

accelerationofAIVoicewithincommunicationsplatforms.VendorsincludingRingCentralandSinchdemonstratedAIagentsembeddeddirectlyintocommunicationsinfrastructure,

enablingenterprisestodeployconversationalautomationacrossvoice,messaginganddigitalchannels.

●EarlyadoptionofAIVoiceshowsclearbusinessbenefits.Transcriptionandcopilotsarenowmainstreaminadvancedserviceorganisations,savetime(often30%+)andimprovequality.

Customerevidencedbenefitsincludefacilitatingscaling,first-timeresolution,improvingautomationcontainment,andcostreduction.AIVoicedemonstratesleadconversionandimprovedbookingratesupliftupto3X,andgrowingabilitytoaddressbasictransactions.Compliancemonitoringcanextendfromsamplingto100%ofinteractions.(See

business

benefits

sectionfordetails)

●Analyticsarelessmatureinadoptionbutcombinedwitheffectivegovernanceandautomationtoolsandprocesses(e.g.vCons)showsignificantpotentialtodelivervalue.

●Asvoicebecomescomputable,valueshiftsfromthelengthofaninteractiontowhatis

understood,governedandachieved.Ineffect,AIVoiceshiftscommunicationseconomicsfromtransportpricingtowardthecontrolofdata,intelligenceandexecution.Thestrategicquestionisnolongerwhocarriesthecall,butwhocontrolsthe

runtime

,which

orchestratesthedataflowsintheconversation,andthereforewhocapturesthevalue.

●IntelligentEngagementplayers(CPaaS,CCaaS,UCaaS+)arepartofanecosystemincludinghyperscalers,telcosandITplayers,manyofwhomarefightingfortheprizeofastakeinthismarket.

Thisreportoutlinesthemarket,customerandecosystemdrivers,andisintendedtohelpIntelligentEngagementplayers,enterprisesandinvestorsmaximisevalueinAIVoice.

AIVoice2026:WhoWillRunTheConversation?

CPaaSAAResearch,March20267of72

KEYACTIONSFORINTELLIGENTENGAGEMENTPLAYERS

Source:CPaaSAA

1.Co-createthenarrative:positionyourselfasanIntelligentEngagementplayer.

CPaaS/CCaaS/UCaaStagsdonotintuitivelyconveytheabilitytosupportcustomerswithAIVoiceoranyotherintelligencebasedengagement.Ifyoucontinuetousethislanguage,youwillbecomefurthermarginalisedincustomers’minds.YouneedtodriveIntelligent

EngagementanddescribeyourselfasanIntelligentEngagementplayer.PositionAIVoicewithinIntelligentEngagement,refineacommonnarrativestructuretodescribecomponentpropositions,andsupportwithclearoutcomefocusedcasestudies.

2.Evidencebusinessresults.Movetheconversationfromtechnologyfeaturestobusiness

results.Focusonbenefitsofunlockingscale,reducinghandlingtime,improvingconversion

andscaleeconomics.ProductstrategyshouldaddressbudgetscrutinyandROIdirectly.Shiftpricingtowardsoutcomesbasedwhenfeasible.

3.Armyourpartners(andeducateyour/theircustomers).AIVoiceisanewandfastdevelopingfield,andsalesteamsthataren’tincentivisedandaren’treadytodeliverconcise,compellingexplanationswillcertainlynotbeabletosellit.Equally,customersneedtoknow“whatcanIdowithAI?”Ifyoudon’thelpthem,someoneelsewill.

4.Engageearlywithemergingregulation.AIVoicemaysitattheboundarybetween

AI-generated“content”andelectroniccommunicationsservices.Thewayregulatorsclassifytheseinteractionscouldmateriallyaffecthowservicesaredesigned,disclosedandgoverned.IntelligentEngagementplayersshouldactivelyengageinemergingregulatoryprocesses–

includingtheEUAIActtransparencyCodeofPractice–toensurethatreal-time

communicationsusecasesareproperlyunderstoodandthatworkablestandardsfordisclosure,markingandgovernancearedeveloped.

AIVoice2026:WhoWillRunTheConversation?

CPaaSAAResearch,March20268of72

5.Controlorchestration(theruntimelayer).Theorchestrationlayergovernsrouting,

escalation,policyandmodelexecution.Controlheredetermineswhocapturesintelligencemarginandwhoremainsatransportprovider.Focusyourmessagingandproductdesigntoshowcustomersthestrengthsthatpartneringwithyouasanorchestratordelivers(i.e.points6-11below).

6.Championgovernanceandtrust.Mission-criticalconversationsrequirereliability,auditabilityandprivacybydesign.Embedcompliance,datasovereigntyandpolicycontrolintothecoreplatformandyourvalues.Governancecanbeasourceofdifferentiation,notoverhead.vCons(anewdatastandard)areapotentialassetforIntelligentEngagementplayersinthisrespect.

7.RemainAI-Modelneutral.Enterprisesneedflexibilityinafast-movingmodelmarket.

PlatformsthatallowmodelstobeswappedwithoutarchitecturaldisruptionbecomethestabilisinglayerinenterpriseAIVoicedeployments.

8.AddressSovereigntyrequirements.Insomemarkets,broadlymostoutsideoftheUSandChina,national-leveldatasovereigntyisanincreasinglypressingconcern.Ifthesearethe

marketsyouserve,ensurethatyourpropositionclearlyaddressestheseneeds.EvenwithintheUS,sovereigntyisanissueatacompanylevel.Customerswanttobeincontroloftheiroptions,andbeabletoimplementsovereigntyifandwhenrequired.

9.Leveragenetworkadvantagewhererelevant.ForCSPs,integratingAIVoicewithNetworkAPIsandnetwork-nativecapabilitiescancreatescalable,high-qualityservicesthatare

difficultforpuresoftwareproviderstoreplicate.

10.Deepenenterpriseintegration.EmbedAIVoiceintoCRM,workforcemanagement,identityandcompliancesystems.Structuralintegrationincreasesswitchingcostsandstrengthenslong-termrelevance.

11.Managehumanadoptiondeliberately.AIVoicesucceedsfasterwhenithelpspeopleratherthanthreatensthem.Prioritisecopilots,automationofrepetitiveworkandtoolsthathelp

teamsperformbetter.Adoptionfrictionisacommercialrisk.

Together,theseactionsdeterminewhetherIntelligentEngagementplayerswillshapethenextphaseofenterpriseconversationoroperatebeneathit.

CUSTOMERADOPTIONANDRISKS

●AIVoice

Adoption

overallremainsunevenbutisaccelerating.Snapshotindicatorssuggest

meaningfuldeploymentinlargerserviceenterprises,withmaturitystillearly-stage.ForecastsacrossadjacentsegmentsandrecentAIVoiceperformanceannouncementsshow

promisinglystronggrowth.

●Theemergenceofnetwork-nativeAIVoiceproductsfromoperatorssuggeststhatitisno

longerapurelytheoreticaldebateaboutwhereAIVoicevaluemaysit.Themarketis

beginningtotestwhetherAIcapabilitiescanlivedirectlywithinthecommunicationslayeritself,makingthequestionoforchestrationandexecutioncontrolincreasinglyimportant.

●Competitiverisk.Hyperscalersareexpandingfromcomponentsupplytofull-stackplatforms.CRMandworkflowprovidersareembeddingconversationalintelligencedirectlyintosystemsofrecord.ContactcentreincumbentsarestrengtheningAIcontrolwithintheirenvironments.VerticalAIspecialistsarebuildingdomain-specificruntimecapabilitiesinregulatedindustries.

AIVoice2026:WhoWillRunTheConversation?

CPaaSAAResearch,March20269of72

●IfIntelligentEngagementplayersremainfocusedontransportandusage,marginwillmigratetootherplayers.Wheretheycancontrolorchestration,governanceandstructureddata,theycangrowfaster.AIVoicewillredistributevalueacrossthestack,andruntimeisthecontestedcontrolpoint.

FORECOSYSTEMSTAKEHOLDERS:SOWHAT?

●CPaaS,CCaaSandUCaaSproviders:becomeIntelligentEngagementPlayers.AIVoiceisastrategicidentitytest.IfyoucontinuetothinkanddescribeyourselvesintermsofSMS

volumes,minutesandAPIthroughput,customerswillpositionyouaccordingly-as

infrastructuresuppliers.Inthatframing,orchestrationandruntimeargumentswillnotland.

TheshifttoIntelligentEngagementisnotcosmeticbutthemovefromsellingtransportto

shapingoutcomes.Thatrequiresanewnarrative,newcommerciallanguageandnewproofpointsbuiltaroundautomation,performanceimprovementandgovernedexecution.Withoutthatrepositioning,valuewillmigrateupwardregardlessofyourtechnicalcapabilities.

Platformprovidersmustcompetetocontroltheexecutionlayerforconversationsand

integratedeeplywithenterpriseworkflows,asCRMandenterprisesoftw