Quiq launches Voice Assist for live customer calls

Quiq has launched Voice Assist for live customer calls, extending its AI assistants from digital channels into voice interactions.

The tool is designed to give human agents guidance that updates during a conversation and to carry out some customer-facing tasks while the call is under way. Those actions can include sending a tracking link, order details or a gift voucher on the same conversation thread linked to the call.

Voice assistance has become a growing battleground in customer service technology as companies look to shorten call times and reduce the work agents must complete across multiple systems. Quiq is positioning the product against tools that rely on fixed scripts or pre-set flows and stop at recommending a next step.

According to Quiq, Voice Assist uses the same Process Guides, knowledge sources and Verified Intelligence controls that already underpin its AI assistants for chat, SMS and email. Every suggestion shown to an agent during a call goes through the same verification process used in those digital channels.

Its main point of difference, the company argues, is that the software can take action during a call rather than only prompt an employee to act elsewhere. In practice, that means a customer service worker can stay on the phone while the system sends a message or completes a task tied to the live interaction.

Digital to voice

The launch builds on functions already available to Quiq customers in digital service channels, including real-time next-best-action prompts, whisper-style guidance, sentiment detection and task completion handled directly by the AI system.

Quiq also tied the launch to performance figures from its existing customer base, saying customers using those digital assistant functions have recorded a 20% decrease in human agent conversation time and an associate satisfaction rate of 4.82 out of 5.

By adding voice, Quiq is aiming to offer one governed system across messaging and calls rather than separate tools for different forms of customer contact. That approach reflects a wider industry push to unify records and workflows as customers move between channels.

Agents can continue messaging a customer after a call ends while keeping the interaction within one conversation record, according to the company. That record can include the live call and messages sent before and after it.

Competitive market

The market for AI tools in contact centres has expanded quickly as software vendors seek to automate more routine service work while keeping a human agent in the loop for live conversations. Many products focus on transcription, summarisation, script prompts and compliance reminders during a call.

Quiq argues the stronger distinction is between systems that only advise and those that can complete a task on behalf of an agent without forcing them to switch applications. It also says real-time guidance needs to adjust when a customer changes topic or diverges from an expected path.

Mike Myer, Chief Executive Officer at Quiq, described that distinction in operational terms.

"Suggesting the right answer to the human agent is easy. Any vendor can do that. What we built is an AI that can also act on it, like sending a real message to the customer during the call on the same thread, while the agent stays on the phone. That's the gap we closed for our customers," said Mike Myer, Chief Executive Officer at Quiq.

Quiq counts brands including Roku, Staples, Brinks Home, Terminix and Panasonic among its customers. The company sells software intended to manage customer interactions across multiple channels while keeping a record of AI decisions and actions.

Available now

Voice Assist is available now as an extension of the AI assistant and workspace tools Quiq has already deployed for digital support operations.

As contact centre operators weigh whether to buy a standalone voice tool or extend an existing customer service platform, the launch shows how suppliers are trying to bring call handling and digital messaging into the same software layer. Quiq's argument is that voice should not sit apart from the governance and workflow rules already used in chat and messaging.

For companies under pressure to cut handling time without losing control of what AI says or does, the question of whether a system can both guide and act is likely to shape the next round of contact centre spending.