We have all been there. You have a simple question—maybe you’re checking a flight, confirming a hotel booking, or trying to figure out why a delivery hasn’t arrived—and you’re met with the dreaded: “Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line.” Then comes the hold music.
For decades, the “phone call” has been the most frustrating part of the customer experience. But recently, a shift has been happening. If you’ve called a major brand like FedEx, Marriott, or Whitbread (the people behind Premier Inn) lately, you might have noticed something different. You didn’t wait. You didn’t talk to a robotic menu that made you scream “Agent!” into the receiver. Instead, you had a conversation.
The technology behind this “quiet revolution” is PolyAI. It is a platform that provides enterprise-grade, AI-powered voice assistants that actually sound, well, human.
But this isn’t just about cool tech. It’s about how the world’s biggest companies are solving a massive problem: how to provide instant, 24/7 support to millions of people without losing the “human” touch. Let’s look at how this works and why the “hold time” might finally be becoming a thing of the past.
The Brands Leading the Charge: Who’s Using PolyAI?
PolyAI doesn’t just work with tech startups; they specialize in “heavy lifting” for massive enterprises that handle millions of calls. Here are five major players using this technology to change how they talk to you:
1. FedEx: Solving the Logistics Puzzle
In the world of global shipping, questions are constant. “Where is my package?” “How do I change my delivery address?” For FedEx, the sheer volume of these “routine” calls is staggering. By using PolyAI, they can handle these inquiries instantly. The AI understands tracking numbers, delivery windows, and even the frustration in a customer’s voice, providing answers without making them wait for a human agent who is likely swamped with more complex logistics issues.
2. Marriott International & Caesars: The Future of Hospitality
If you’re calling a hotel at 2:00 AM to confirm a late check-in or ask about parking, you don’t want to wait 20 minutes. Marriott and Caesars use voice AI to handle bookings, amenities questions, and basic guest services. It allows their front-desk staff to focus on the guests standing right in front of them, while the “digital twin” handles the phone lines with the same level of brand-appropriate politeness.
3. Whitbread (Premier Inn): Reducing the Friction of Travel
Whitbread, the parent company of the UK’s largest hotel brand, Premier Inn, manages thousands of rooms. They’ve integrated PolyAI to help guests book, amend, or cancel stays. For a traveler on the go, the ability to change a reservation via a quick, natural phone conversation—without navigating a complex app or waiting on hold—is a massive win for loyalty.
4. Simplyhealth: Navigating Insurance with Care
Health insurance is sensitive. Simplyhealth uses PolyAI specifically to handle frequently asked questions (FAQs) while identifying “vulnerable” callers. If the AI senses someone is in distress or has a complex medical claim, it doesn’t just keep talking; it intelligently routes them to a human specialist. According to their own data, this has helped them resolve about 25% of calls fully through the AI, while significantly boosting their Trustpilot scores.
5. BP: Powering the Energy Sector
In the oil and gas industry, customer service often involves B2B interactions or complex billing for fleet services. BP uses this technology to streamline these high-volume touchpoints, ensuring that even during peak hours, no call goes unanswered.
What Makes This Different from the “Robots” We Hate?
We’ve all dealt with “Interactive Voice Response” (IVR) systems. You know the ones: “Press 1 for Sales… I’m sorry, I didn’t get that.” PolyAI represents a leap forward because it is customer-led, not menu-led. Here is why it feels different:
- It Understands “Human” Speech: Humans don’t talk in keywords. We ramble, we change our minds mid-sentence, and we have accents. PolyAI was born out of the University of Cambridge’s engineering labs, and its proprietary models (specifically something called “ConveRT”) are designed to understand the intent behind the words, even if there is background noise or a thick regional accent.
- You Can Interrupt: Traditional bots make you listen to the whole “script” before you can talk. With these new assistants, you can interrupt. If it starts explaining the cancellation policy and you just want to know the fee, you can say, “Wait, just tell me the price,” and it will pivot instantly.
- It Remembers Who You Are: Because it integrates with a company’s CRM (like Salesforce or Zendesk), the AI knows your history. It doesn’t ask for your account number three times. It says, “Hi Sarah, are you calling about your recent order to Chicago?”
The Business Logic: Why Enterprises are Buying In
For a company like FedEx or Marriott, the decision to go AI isn’t just about “being high-tech.” It’s a calculated response to three major pressures:
1. The “Hold Time” Crisis
Forrester research recently noted that PolyAI can help companies reduce their call abandonment rates by up to 50%. When people hang up because the wait is too long, the company loses money and gains a hater. By answering every call on the first ring, brands protect their reputation.
2. Reducing Agent Burnout
Customer service is a hard job with high turnover. Agents spend 60% of their day answering the same five questions: “What’s my balance?” “Where is my technician?” “How do I reset my password?” By letting the AI handle the “boring” stuff, human agents are freed up to handle the “empathy” stuff—like helping a customer through a complicated insurance claim or resolving a serious complaint.
3. Massive Scalability
Imagine a sudden storm that cancels 500 flights. A call center cannot hire 200 people in ten minutes to handle the surge. An AI can. It scales infinitely, meaning a “peak period” doesn’t result in a “service meltdown.”
Is This the End of Human Customer Service?
This is the big question. Does this mean we will never talk to a person again?
The short answer is no. In fact, the goal of companies using PolyAI is often to make the human interactions better.
When you do finally get through to a human, they aren’t frustrated from answering 50 password reset calls. They have the full transcript of what you just told the AI, so you don’t have to repeat yourself. The AI acts as a “digital concierge” that prepares the way for the human expert.
As Nikola Mrkšić, the CEO of PolyAI, often says: “Hold times are for the old times.” The vision isn’t to replace humans; it’s to replace the waiting.
What This Means for You
The next time you call a major brand, listen closely. If the voice on the other end is warm, helpful, and actually understands your mumbles, you’re likely talking to a descendant of the Cambridge labs.
We are entering an era where the “phone call” might actually be the fastest way to get something done again. No more navigating 15 web pages or waiting for a “live chat” agent to type back. You just speak, and it’s handled.
The big question for the future is this: As AI becomes indistinguishable from humans on the phone, will we care? If your problem is solved in two minutes at midnight on a Sunday, does it matter if the voice was made of code or vocal cords?