VUX World

Kylan Gibbs, Co-founder and CEO of Inworld, and Andrei Papancea, Co-founder and CEO of NLX, dive into the exciting evolution of voice AI technology. They explore the shift from basic assistants to lifelike voices that deliver personalized customer experiences. The duo details their collaboration to make high-quality text-to-speech accessible for developers. They discuss how brands can transition from mere voice to vibrant personalities, emphasizing the importance of user segmentation and customization. Their insights on measuring quality in voice interactions and the necessity for continuous experimentation highlight the future of voice AI.

Ian Jacobs, VP and Lead Analyst at Opus Research, brings a wealth of expertise in customer service and conversational tech. He dives into how AI is reshaping contact centers, balancing efficiency with human empathy. Intriguingly, he discusses instances where non-empathetic AI might actually serve customers better. The conversation expands to explore the future of work, human happiness, and the challenges of regulating rapidly advancing AI technology. Discover the complexities of navigating AI's role in modern business and society.

Exploring the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for conversational AI platforms, industry experts analyze Google's unified platform and its enterprise complexities. The conversation highlights Cognigy's strengths in multilingual support and its strategic acquisition by Nice. Boost AI's ascent as a reliable leader is examined, alongside IBM's struggle to maintain relevance. Druid's workflow automation focus and Yellow AI's global messaging success are discussed. Insightful recommendations for startups, along with strategic advice on platform selection for CX leaders, round out the engaging topics.

As one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, Toyota is giving its machines a voice using AI as a trusted partner to transform how cars are built and serviced.In this episode, we speak with Kordel France, Principal AI Engineer & AI Architect at Toyota, to uncover how artificial intelligence is reshaping production and maintenance globally.We explore how Toyota has moved from technicians spending hours sifting through thousands of pages of manuals to intelligent systems that can diagnose faults in seconds and even predict breakdowns before they happen. Kordel explains the technical architecture behind these solutions, blending classical machine learning with generative AI, and the challenges of creating specialised systems from general-purpose models.You’ll also hear why high-quality data ingestion is more important than the model itself, how even a relatively small number of users can drive asymmetric improvements in efficiency, and what Toyota’s collaboration with NLX means for service technicians working across increasingly complex powertrains.Show notesKane Simms on LinkedInDiscover VUX ConsultingTake the updated AI Maturity AssessmentSubscribe to VUX WorldSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The AI arms race in customer experience just got serious. We’re joined by industry legends Nerys Corfield (Injection Consulting), Jon Arnold (J Arnold & Associates), and Henry Iversen (boost.ai) to unpack one of the biggest AI moves in recent memory: NiCE’s $955M acquisition of Cognigy.We break down what this deal means for the future of AI-first contact centres, the fate of best-in-class point solutions, and the broader shift toward an AI-led customer experience strategy. From questions of market consolidation and vendor lock-in to the culture clash between product-led innovation and marketing muscle, we share some real, unscripted insights into the implications of the acquisition for enterprises, vendors, and buyers alike.This episode is brought to you by NLXBuild and deploy sophisticated chat, voice, and multimodal applications for any purpose with NLX. NLX works seamlessly with any LLM and existing tech stack, freeing you to create, not configure. Trusted by individual builders and leading teams at Comcast, Saks Fifth Avenue, Toyota, and United Airlines, NLX helps you turn AI concepts into working conversational experiences.Show notesFollow the episode guests on LinkedIn:Nerys Corfield - Director, Injection ConsultingHenry Iversen - CCO & Co-Founder, boost.aiJon Arnold - Principal, J Arnold & AssociatesKane Simms on LinkedIn Subscribe to VUX WorldSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the hype cycle around AI to the real-world constraints enterprises face when adopting new tech, we explore the opportunities shaping the future of business communications in this episode.  We’re joined by Jon Arnold, an independent tech analyst, for a conversation about the shifting landscape of enterprise communications. We talk about analysts' unique role in shaping vendor strategy and market perception. We discuss the current state of business communications technology, examining what Jon describes as the "three-legged stool" of cloud communications: CCaaS, CPaaS, and UCaaS. We discuss how these previously distinct domains are converging, with vendors increasingly offering capabilities across all three areas.We also explore how AI is disrupting the traditional communications technology landscape. Jon offers valuable insights into why AI-native companies may have advantages over traditional contact centre vendors who are adding AI capabilities, and why the pace of AI adoption varies significantly across different industries and organisations.This episode is brought to you by NLX.NLX is a conversational AI platform enabling brands to build and manage chat, voice and multimodal applications. NLX’s patented Voice+ technology synchronizes voice with digital channels, making it possible to automate complex use cases typically handled by a human agent. When a customer calls, the voice AI guides them to resolve their inquiry through self-service using the brand’s digital asset, resulting in automation and CSAT scores well above industry average. Just ask United Airlines.Shownotes:Find out more about Jon Arnold: https://www.jarnoldassociates.com/about/jon-arnoldSubscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimmsGet in touch with Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimms Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of VUX World, we chat with Kellin Sjoerds and Ricky Wekker, Conversational AI Engineers at Essent - the Netherlands’ largest utility provider and part of the E.ON Group to uncover the story behind their groundbreaking agent assist tool, Bolt.Bolt is an AI-powered agent copilot that has transformed Essent’s call centre operations, shaving an average of 60 seconds off every call and delivering over €1.8 million in savings, not through layoffs, but by reducing dependence on BPOs.We unpack the full journey behind Essent’s AI copilot, Bolt, starting with a simple observation during a team shadowing session that sparked its creation. What began as a hackathon MVP quickly turned heads, prompting leadership to ask, “How fast can we launch this?” From there, we uncover how the team tackled complex challenges like cleaning and restructuring their knowledge base, implementing a smart chunking system, and fine-tuning prompts to ensure accurate, reliable outputs. And through a carefully staged rollout, they struck the right balance between innovation and safety, navigating compliance hurdles while delivering impressive business value.This episode is brought to you by NLX.NLX is a conversational AI platform enabling brands to build and manage chat, voice and multimodal applications. NLX’s patented Voice+ technology synchronizes voice with digital channels, making it possible to automate complex use cases typically handled by a human agent. When a customer calls, the voice AI guides them to resolve their inquiry through self-service using the brand’s digital asset, resulting in automation and CSAT scores well above industry average. Just ask United Airlines.Shownotes:Subscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimmsGet in touch with Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimms Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Satish Barot, a leader at Klearcom specializing in telephony testing and quality assurance, discusses the dynamic shift in contact center technology. He highlights how organizations are transitioning from traditional IVR systems to advanced generative AI, often adopting hybrid solutions. Key topics include the importance of thorough testing for AI voice systems, privacy concerns, and the need for a customer-focused approach. Satish emphasizes starting small and leveraging real-world testing to ensure accurate performance in this evolving landscape.

74% of CEOs think their jobs are on the line because of AI. Not because AI might replace them, but because failing to implement it successfully could cost them everything.Merlin Bise, CTO of Inbenta and former Head of Technology at a firm acquired by the London Stock Exchange, joins us to share how Inbenta is helping enterprises modernise their customer experience. Merlin explains that so many AI deployments fail, not because the technology is lacking, but because companies often bet on the wrong frameworks, overlook data foundations, or underestimate the importance of testing. We explore how traditional rules-based systems give way to agentic frameworks that can reason, triage ambiguous queries, and even correct automation gaps in real time. Merlin walks us through the journey many enterprises take: beginning with deterministic rules, evolving to AI-powered agents, and ultimately orchestrating complex automation through agentic manager systems that oversee and improve themselves.Security and customer experience are front and centre in this episode. Merlin breaks down the cybersecurity concerns that make enterprises hesitate and why, in most cases, those fears are rooted more in perception than reality.Finally, we reflect on the broader trajectory of AI. While the race toward AGI dominates headlines, Merlin argues that the tools enterprises need to radically improve productivity are already here. The challenge is implementing what exists with purpose and precision.This episode is brought to you by NLX.NLX is a conversational AI platform enabling brands to build and manage chat, voice and multimodal applications. NLX’s patented Voice+ technology synchronizes voice with digital channels, making it possible to automate complex use cases typically handled by a human agent. When a customer calls, the voice AI guides them to resolve their inquiry through self-service using the brand’s digital asset, resulting in automation and CSAT scores well above industry average. Just ask United Airlines.Shownotes:Check out Inbenta: https://www.inbenta.com/Subscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimmsGet in touch with Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimms/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode, recorded live at Boost Camp, we have three industry leaders who are shaping the future of conversational AI: Ben Maxim, CTO at Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU), Åse Marthinsen, who leads generative AI at Norway’s largest bank, DNB and Nick Mitchell, Chief Revenue Officer at boost.ai.We cover the ever-changing landscape of conversational AI, including aligning teams, integrating data across channels and designing experiences that are on brand and human-centric.We look at how organisations are managing thousands of conversational intents with lean teams, thanks to hybrid AI models and smarter content workflows. There’s a growing focus on data governance and trust, especially in highly regulated industries like banking. But DNB and MSUFCU show that you can scale responsibly, with MSUFCU’s chatbot Fran now handling 79% of customer chats without escalation.As AI gets faster, so do the expectations from customers and leadership. We talk about the shifting role of contact centres from answering FAQs to driving strategic initiatives and the importance of staying ahead through continuous testing, experimentation and AI-driven insights.Shownotes: Check out boost.ai: https://boost.ai/Subscribe to VUX World: https://vuxworld.typeform.com/to/Qlo5aaeWSubscribe to The AI Ultimatum Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/kanesimmsGet in touch with Kane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanesimms Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.