Japanese firms can now plug AI voice agents into their phone lines

NTT Docomo Business X and ElevenLabs are teaming up so Japanese companies can put AI voice agents on their existing phone lines. The first focus is contact centres and other jobs where staff talk to customers. Companies would not need to replace the phone system they already have.

What changed

The partnership combines two products. NTT Docomo Business X brings NTT CPaaS Voice, its voice communications and API platform. An API is a way for different software to talk to each other. ElevenLabs, a maker of AI voice technology, brings ElevenAgents, its voice and chat agent technology.

The integration is designed to link AI agents to current telephone setups, including private branch exchanges, or PBXs. A PBX is the system that routes calls inside an office or company.

What is not known yet

The available material does not say when the service starts, what it costs, or which companies will use it first. It also does not say which languages the agents will handle or how well they perform on real customer calls.

For business owners, the main point is that AI call answering may no longer require a phone system overhaul. Any company considering this kind of tool should still test how the voice sounds and how it handles problems before customers hear it.