WHITE PAPER - Analyst Report
Voice AI: Transforming the Channel of Choice
It is conventional wisdom in the customer contact world that digital channels are replacing the voice channel. And yet, voice has not disappeared. On this newly published report by ContactBabel and Teneo, we look at real data that supports that voice - whether life or self-service - remains king.
Download This White Paper
Fill out the form below to get this white paper delivered immediately to your mailbox.
What Is Covered
in This White Paper?
ContactBabel is the contact center industry expert. In this report, they gathered data from companies across the globe to determine the state of Voice and Telephony in 2026.
What have they found? Well, for starters, Voice remains the dominant customer service channel accounting for approximately 70% of inbound interactions, across both the United States and the United Kingdom. Despite growth in digital channels, the phone remains the channel customers rely on when resolution matters most.
At the same time, traditional IVR and legacy speech systems have delivered inconsistent results, creating customer frustration and limiting automation success. Containment rates remain low, and abandonment remains high.
AI-enabled voice self-service reduces cost per interaction by approximately 95% compared to live calls while simultaneously improving containment, reducing transfers, and increasing resolution rates.
Digital is not replacing voice. In many cases, it precedes it.
The Content
What's the status of Voice in 2026?
Channels in Context: Voice Remains Strong
- This White Paper presents evidence why we believe the general expectation of a mass move away from the voice channel is over-stated, and why voice is not just the channel of the past and present, but also of the future.
The Case for Voice as a Channel of the Future
- Voice self-service provides customer support at a much lower cost than live voice, and also provides queueless service to customers. So why does it still only account for around 7% of inbound interactions?
Why isn't Voice Self-Service Bigger?
- Consistent and positive experiences with sophisticated AI-enabled voice self-service will go a long way to building confidence, but it should be acknowledged that there is a larger market re-education project needed at an industry-wide level.
The Future of Voice Self-Service
- Traditional voice self-service using touchtone IVR or keyword speech recognition is a lukewarm success at best. Voice AI transform this landscape by delivering natural language understanding that can handle complex interactions previously requiring live agents and offering a cost reduction of around 95%.
Why It Matters?
Voice remains dominant and customers rely on it for their most important interactions. Legacy self-service systems have underdelivered. AI-enabled Voice transforms the economics and performance of the most critical channel in customer service. It delivers:
- Up to 95% cost reduction per automated interaction
- Proven enterprise ROI at scale
- Improved containment and resolution
- Seamless omnichannel continuity
For Contact Center and CX leaders, the question is no longer whether voice matters. The question is whether your voice channel is an expense — or a strategic asset.
The Power of Teneo
We help high-growth companies like Telefonica, HelloFresh, Skoda and Swisscom find new opportunities through AI conversations.
Interested to learn what we can do for your business?