Telephony and AI: the future of customer service and sales

What used to be a conversation between two people on the phone can now include an AI that listens and understands. Artificial intelligence is already being applied in the telephony sector, not to replace anyone, but to make customer service and sales work better, faster, and with fewer errors. First, let’s mention something we all know: traditional telephony, the kind we’ve used for years as a key channel for customer service. But nowadays, its limitations are clear: it requires physical lines, it doesn’t offer much mobility, and scaling means higher costs… But in contrast, we now have virtual telephony, which works through the cloud, without cables. It can be used from anywhere with an internet connection, scaling or adapting is much easier, and it can be integrated with other management tools.

Why Artificial Intelligence in Telephony?

We’re at a point where, if you have a business, answering the phone well is no longer enough. You might have great agents doing an excellent job, but nowadays people also expect quick answers, automation, availability, and above all, no wasted time. Waiting on the phone with background music for five minutes could soon be a thing of the past thanks to virtual agents, as they respond instantly and are ready to solve doubts or problems. So, what are virtual agents? Virtual agents are assistants that handle calls using artificial intelligence. They can reply with a natural voice, hold a conversation, and do everything just like a human would. Today, virtual agents can understand what you’re saying, interpret it, and respond in a meaningful way. And the best part is, they learn over time; the more they interact, the better they get. They can assist in different languages, which opens your business to international markets, offer 24/7 customer service so you won’t miss a single call, automate repetitive tasks, answer frequently asked questions, and much more. And all of this can be achieved without big teams, just a solid platform to integrate them, like Megacall.

• Full Customer Service. No calls will be missed, and multiple conversations can be handled at the same time.
• They have “memory.” They store customer details and data, like when the last issue happened, when they called, etc.
• They act as a filter. Before passing the call to an agent, they already know the problem, the type of customer, and the situation.
• They improve over time. Virtual agents get better at responding and understanding with every conversation.

Plus, they don’t just handle incoming calls—they can also make outgoing calls, allowing them to confirm appointments (to check if a customer will attend) or send important reminders to clients. With all of this, we can see that virtual agents are here to help everything run more smoothly, reduce the workload for human teams, and improve the customer experience from the very first call.

Which virtual agent platforms are being used and can be connected with Megacall?

Among the top tools that can already be integrated with Megacall’s telephony are Retell AI, Vapi, and ElevenLabs. To mention a few details, with Retell and ElevenLabs you can make two-way calls, while Vapi is currently focused on incoming calls only. These three platforms are quite similar in terms of features. You can create your virtual agent by providing a prompt with instructions that the agent must follow, and from there, the virtual agent takes care of speaking, responding, and adapting to the conversation. They offer options to choose different voice types, languages, and speech speed, responding in a natural way. Getting it up and running is very simple, you just need a virtual number, like the virtual numbers offered by Megacall, and from the platform, you simply configure the forwarding of incoming calls. The advantage of having Megacall is that you’ll always have your number at an affordable price, since these platforms don’t provide virtual numbers. Plus, with your Megacall virtual number, you’ll also have access to the virtual PBX. And now, it’s also possible to integrate artificial intelligence with the PBX, turning the virtual agent into just another employee of your company. To get a clearer view of how virtual agents work and how they benefit a business, let’s look at two examples of using virtual agents in telephony.

1. Virtual Agent in a Private Clinic: Virtual Number Connected to AI

When we connect the virtual number to the virtual agent, incoming calls go directly to that number, meaning the virtual agent answers first. For example: In a clinic, many calls are received every day; patients wanting to book appointments, others changing appointments, or simply asking questions about schedules or prices. A virtual agent can handle all of these tasks. If a client calls to book an appointment for a specific day, the agent checks the available schedule (if connected to the system) and suggests available dates. If the booking can’t be completed, it collects all the necessary details and leaves the request ready for the staff.

2. Virtual Agent for Hotels: Virtual PBX Connected to AI

If we connect the virtual PBX to AI, it brings many advantages. Here, the virtual agent becomes like another employee, capable of answering queued calls, handling calls transferred from other agents, and even handling programmed calls. This means that if a customer calls during business hours, we can have a human agent answer, but if the call comes in outside working hours, the AI can handle it during holidays, weekends, or other non-working times. For example, hotels receive daily calls with similar questions: room availability, cancellations, services, or even directions to the hotel. In this case, when a customer calls, the first thing they hear is a welcome menu previously set up in the virtual PBX. The customer presses the option they’re interested in. For instance, if they want to cancel a reservation, they press the corresponding button, and the call is directed to the virtual agent, which accesses the booking information and, following the hotel’s policy, responds clearly. The call can also be transferred to a human if the customer wants to speak to a real agent. As we can see, these examples highlight something key: they’re extremely useful tools that help with day-to-day tasks, taking weight off the staff. As we mentioned earlier, to access these tools, you need to connect your virtual number. With Megacall, you can get your virtual number—numbers from over 100 countries are available—connect your number with virtual agents, CRMs, and a virtual PBX. With Megacall, you can redirect calls, record them, forward them, and, most interestingly, analyze what happens in each conversation. This is where we highlight Megacall’s AI-powered voice analytics. With voice analytics, you can extract valuable information from conversations (most common topics, customer tone, emotions, keywords…) and use that data to make better business decisions. Thanks to these integrations between telephony, virtual agents, and voice analytics, any company can deliver faster, more personalized, and more strategic customer service.