Send us a text The conversational AI market has exploded: ~650 companies, even more tools, and way too many promises. For business leaders, navigating all this can be paralyzing. In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, your host Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Dan Miller, founder of Opus Research and the analyst who coined the term "conversational commerce," to unpack why the AI ecosystem feels more crowded and confusing than ever. Dan calls it the “Deer in Headlights” moment: a point wh...
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Send us a text The conversational AI market has exploded: ~650 companies, even more tools, and way too many promises. For business leaders, navigating all this can be paralyzing. In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, your host Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Dan Miller, founder of Opus Research and the analyst who coined the term "conversational commerce," to unpack why the AI ecosystem feels more crowded and confusing than ever. Dan calls it the “Deer in Headlights” moment: a point wh...
Send us a text The conversational AI market has exploded: ~650 companies, even more tools, and way too many promises. For business leaders, navigating all this can be paralyzing. In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, your host Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Dan Miller, founder of Opus Research and the analyst who coined the term "conversational commerce," to unpack why the AI ecosystem feels more crowded and confusing than ever. Dan calls it the “Deer in Headlights” moment: a point wh...
Send us a text Hello Sugar is one of the fastest-growing service brands in America, with more than 140 locations and counting. From the start, they built a text-first, digital experience that customers loved. But growth brought new insights: even in a digital-first world, voice calls were still critical to winning — and keeping — customers. In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, Nikola Mrkšić talks with Austin Towns, CTO of Hello Sugar, about how the brand rethought customer experienc...
Send us a text Large language models are powerful tools — but why do they ramble on and on instead of just getting to the point? In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Oliver Shoulson, one of PolyAI’s original dialogue designers, to unpack why LLMs talk the way they do, and what that means for building natural-sounding voice AI. They dive into: Why LLMs are trained to over-explain, and how that breaks spoken dialogueThe subtle design choices that can make...
Send us a text Most companies measure CX through surveys, reviews, and dashboards. But there is real danger in “silent complaints”: the underwhelming experiences that customers never report, but quietly share with friends or that stop them from coming back. In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, your host Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Adrian Swinscoe — author, Forbes columnist, and host of Punk CX — to explore how AI is reshaping customer experience, and why technology alone won’t save...
Send us a text Analytics has always been the hardest part of the contact center. Dashboards are slow, incomplete, and rarely used outside of specialist teams. But what if analytics could be as simple as asking a question? In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, your host Nikola Mrkšić brings back Damian Sasso to explore how agentic AI is transforming analysis itself. Instead of waiting weeks for trends to surface, leaders can now interact with their data in real time: surfacing insight...
Send us a text We all know AI agents can answer calls (with varying success rates depending upon their sophistication). But what if AI agents could also help CX leaders analyze their deployments, ask questions about their unique challenges and opportunities, and continuously improve? In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Damian Sasso, Group PM at PolyAI, to explore how the field is moving from solely customer-facing AI agents toward agentic AI teams that c...
Send us a text 🚨 OpenAI just made its Realtime API generally available, and it's got everyone talking. But is it a true game-changer, or just another update? In this episode, your host Nikola Mrkšić (Co-founder & CEO, PolyAI) is joined by Shawn Wen (Co-founder and CTO, PolyAI) to break down what this release really means: 🔹 Why Realtime API could kill the old turn-taking model 🔹 How speech-to-speech changes latency, interruptibility, and naturalness 🔹 What benchmarks actually say about ...
Send us a text Ever wonder what really makes an AI voice feel human? In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, an all-star panel from our dialogue design and engineering teams takes you behind-the-scenes to share how the hardest part of CX automation actually works. From latency and personalization to multichannel design and our in-house Raven model, they break down the science (and the art) behind building conversational AI agents that are actually worth talking to. You’ll learn: ✅ Why...
Send us a text In this episode, your host Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Matt Henderson, VP of Research at PolyAI, to unpack the state of large language models, their quirks, and what really matters when building smarter voice agents for customer service. Join us for a discussion on: - Why GPT-5 may feel more incremental than game-changing - Why reasoning models can fail at surprisingly simple tasks - How PolyAI's Raven outperforms generalist LLMs in latency-sensitive, real-world CX use cases ...
Send us a text Brian Jeppesen, who serves as Director, Contact Center Operations at Fertitta Entertainment, joined your host Nikola Mrkšić to discuss his vision for the AI-powered contact center. Listen to hear Nikola and Brian cover: • How to overcome the challenges of staffing call centers during high-demand periods, including with virtual agents • Their reaction to the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025, and what it means for brands and BPOs • Myths around the implementation ...
Send us a text PolyAI co-founder and CTO Shawn Wen joins Nikola for a deep dive into the just-released OpenAI GPT-5 model. From model-flipping and 4o's depreciation to curbing sycophancy and determining which LLM out there is #1 for coding, they cover it all. Join us for a discussion on: • OpenAI's bold approach to upgrading and removing models 2 • Hands-on experiences with GPT-5 and its capabilities for coding and other tasks • Trends in AI, including the increasing use of language models a...
Send us a text This week, Nikola is joined by Becky Kershaw, Deployments Lead at PolyAI. Becky shares how using her own British accent for AI voice cloning increased engagement in outbound sales, showing the power of personalization and cultural fit. They also discuss the crucial role of forward-deployed engineers—AI engineers, product managers, and dialogue designers—who immerse themselves in the customer’s world to deliver real results by: - Solving complex problems - Integrating with fr...
Send us a text Following up from Nikola Mrkšić and Nathan Benaich's recent article for Fortune -- ‘AI rollup’ investors think services firms can trade more like software companies. Here’s what they get wrong. Read here -- https://fortune.com/2025/06/27/ai-rollup-investment-strategy/ The buzz around AI roll-ups - buying low-margin service businesses and turning them into high-margin software companies - sounds enticing. But it's not that simple. While AI can enhance efficiency, it doesn't au...
Send us a text Fortune article: http://fortune.com/2025/06/27/ai-rollup-investment-strategy/ Nikola reflects on his recent Fortune commentary (above) into the transformative potential of AI rollup strategies in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). He and Damien discuss the concept of AI rollups (where private equity firms consolidate service companies to create more efficient, tech-enabled businesses), as well as the unique challenges and opportunities associated with integrating AI int...
Send us a text Nikola and Damien are back to discuss the ongoing evolution of AI in the contact center industry. We'll explore whether AI is truly replacing human workers or simply augmenting their capabilities, covering Klarna's automation efforts and recent Gartner predictions, and analyzing the challenges and opportunities in implementing AI solutions. We touch on essential aspects of project management, customer service strategies, and the future of AI integration in contact centers. Join...
Send us a text VP of Product Marketing Brian Thompson joins Nikola to discuss the current state and future prospects of AI in financial services, including banking and insurance. The chat covers the importance of human oversight in AI deployments, the evolving landscape in banking and FinTech, optimization of back-office processes, and how financial institutions are leveraging generative AI. Brian shares insights on the differences between large legacy banks and smaller community banks, and t...
Send us a text Damien and Nikola are back to discuss the transformative impact of generative AI in our everyday lives. The conversation covers everything from the rise of LLMs in personal development and therapy to DIY projects and coding. Discover how generative AI is reshaping industries, solving everyday problems, and why it's gaining traction in fields like legal services and medical advice. as well as future applications of AI. Follow PolyAI on LinkedIn Watch this and other episodes of t...
Send us a text Guest host Meghan Berton and VP of Engineering Razvan Kusztos cover the release of PolyAI's Owl ASR model, while dishing goss on the intricacies of developing high-performing speech recognition models. They discuss the significance of in-house SLU tech, the challenges of ensuring accuracy across different accents and environments, and the benefits of using synthetic data. The conversation also covers the cultural nuances in text to speech models and how Poly AI leverages partne...
Send us a text Damien and Nikola discuss the brave initiatives taken by executives in the field of generative AI, their successes, and challenges. Nikola Mrkšić, CEO and co-founder of PolyAI, shares insights on differentiation in the generative AI space, the viability of build vs. buy decisions, and the importance of proof of concept in AI projects. The episode sheds light on the technological advancements and strategic decisions that help organizations capitalize on generative AI, with illus...
Send us a text Damien and Nikola discuss the implications of AI-first approaches in industries, with a focus on how companies like Duolingo and Klarna are navigating the AI transformation. We explore the concept of an intelligent enterprise operating system and debate whether traditional companies can adapt quickly enough. Additionally, we examine the potential impacts on human employment and strategies for businesses to keep their employees motivated amidst these changes. Follow PolyAI on Li...
Send us a text The conversational AI market has exploded: ~650 companies, even more tools, and way too many promises. For business leaders, navigating all this can be paralyzing. In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, your host Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Dan Miller, founder of Opus Research and the analyst who coined the term "conversational commerce," to unpack why the AI ecosystem feels more crowded and confusing than ever. Dan calls it the “Deer in Headlights” moment: a point wh...
