Business must talk to customers — by phone, without queues and 24/7. Hiring people is expensive and unreliable. A Voice Agent is an AI bot that answers like a human: handles FAQs, takes bookings, captures leads and even closes sales — fast, polite and always on.
What it is
A voice agent picks up the phone and holds a natural conversation. It detects intent, confirms details, captures contacts and writes to your CRM/spreadsheet.
- Caller phones in → agent talks like a human
- Answers common questions using a script and KB
- Collects contacts, bookings, comments and consent
- Can joke, place on hold or escalate to a human
Why businesses need it
- 📞 No missed calls: 24/7 coverage including nights/weekends
- 💰 Lower costs: no paying for “waiting by the phone”
- ⚡ Speed: sub‑second answers, no queues
- 📈 Scale: handle many concurrent leads
Real example: food delivery
A colleague built a voice agent for a food delivery shop. It took phone orders, confirmed address/time and wrote everything to Google Sheets. Day one — 16 orders. No site, no manager, no hassle.
How to monetize
- Sell agents to SMBs for €300–€1000
- Charge monthly for support and tweaks
- Run your own project with fully automated intake
Stack and key tech
- OpenAI Realtime API (or similar) for live dialog
- ASR (e.g., Whisper) and TTS (e.g., ElevenLabs)
- Vapi / Twilio/SIP / WebRTC for telephony
- Barge‑in to interrupt TTS when the caller speaks
- Latency budget ≤ 600 ms
- Grounding answers to your KB/APIs with citations
- CRM integration (HubSpot, Google Sheets)
Launch in an evening
- Write the script: greeting, clarifications, confirmation
- Build flows in Vapi or via Realtime API + WebRTC
- Hook up Whisper (ASR) and ElevenLabs (TTS), enable barge‑in
- Store results in Google Sheets or your CRM via webhook
- Make test calls, measure latency, refine prompts/voice
FAQ
Is it legal?
Yes, if you disclose recording and follow consent rules. Add a short notice.
Does it sound natural?
Modern TTS like ElevenLabs sounds realistic with emotions. Tune voice and speed.
How much will it cost?
Depends on minutes/traffic. Typically cheaper than a human, with 24/7 availability and scale.
What about mistakes?
Add fallback to a human, confirmations on critical actions and guardrails.