The Caller ID company Truecaller will now allow users to create an AI version of their voice to answer calls. Truecaller, known for identifying and blocking spam calls, is introducing a new feature for users with access to its AI Assistant. By partnering with Microsoft’s Azure AI Speech, Truecaller enables users to record their voice, which the AI will then learn from to create a synthetic version.
“This groundbreaking capability not only adds a touch of familiarity and comfort for the users but also showcases the power of AI in transforming the way we interact with our digital assistants,” says Raphael Mimoun, Truecaller’s product director and general manager, in a blog post.
Truecaller’s AI Assistant screens incoming calls and informs users of the caller's reason for calling. Customers can see this information and decide whether to answer the call themselves or have the AI Assistant respond. This feature, first introduced in 2022, is currently available only in select countries.
Previously, users could choose from a set of preset voices to represent them. Now, allowing users to record their own voices enhances the personalization of the service. During the Build conference, Azure AI Speech introduced a personal voice feature that enables recording and replicating voices. However, Microsoft notes in a blog post that this feature is available on a limited basis and is intended for specific use cases like voice assistants.
Microsoft automatically adds watermarks to voices generated by Azure AI Speech’s personal voice and has released a code of conduct that requires users to obtain full consent from those being recorded, prohibiting impersonation.
It remains to be seen how well the personal voice feature will perform compared to a user’s own voicemail message.
