I was fooled for a moment by an AI voice yesterday morning.
In the process of finalizing the sale of my home, I needed to call my solar provider, Sunrun, to understand how to initiate the transfer of the service to the buyer. It was a typical call, at first. I got a smooth-sounding male voice and was walked through a typical decision tree.
You know the drill, “Please select from the following menu items. If you are interested in upgrading your home to solar, press one. If you’re already a Sunrun customer and have a question or concern, please press two.” After navigating as far as I could, the obviously recorded voice said, “If you do not have a case number, please stay on the line and we will connect you with an agent.”
This is when it got interesting.
The agent, Alice, introduced herself this way: “Hi. Welcome to the Sunrun Service Transfer Department. I’m Alice, a support agent on a recorded line. May I have your full name, please?” There was no disclosure that I was speaking with AI, and frankly, I didn’t expect to be. I expected a human, and that’s what I thought I got. So I proceeded without any hesitation.
After a couple of back-and-forths, I noticed something. It was just a hint of the uncanny valley. So I said, “Well, I have a question. You said you were an agent, but you sound like you’re AI.” Then Alice answered, “You’re right. I’m an AI support agent for Sunrun here to help with service transfer questions, so I can guide you through the process and answer any questions you have. How can I assist you further?”
I then continued with my questions. They all got answered. The AI voice was calm, present, with minimal latency. All of my questions got answered and I hung up.
I Enjoyed The AI Voice And That Bothers Me
I liked it. That’s the part I can’t get past.
The call lasted maybe two minutes. I got exactly what I needed. Nobody put me on hold for too long. I wasn’t shuttled between departments. The AI voice was calm, clear, and present. It didn’t have a bad morning. It moved me through the conversation as if it had nowhere else to be and nothing else on its mind. When it was over, I hung up satisfied.
The problem is that it wasn’t a person, and didn’t announce on its own that it wasn’t a person. And I’m not sure I would have known that if I hadn’t asked.
Most People Wouldn’t Have Asked
I asked because I knew to ask. I’ve engaged with this AI voice tech enough to spot the subtle notes. I’m pretty sure most people wouldn’t have noticed.
That’s not me trying to pat myself on the back; it’s just an observation about what’s coming. When the experience is good enough that the question wouldn’t occur to most people, something real has shifted in the landscape.
I’m struggling to understand what that change means. And I’m struggling to understand why I’m struggling.
When Does This Actually Matter?
Sunrun uses Replicant for its AI voice agent. They say they’ve achieved a 50% call resolution rate with AI. For any business, that’s a meaningful number. And I’m here to tell you that the experience was as positive as any experience I’ve had with a human support person.
I wanted you to hear it, so I called back this morning. Here is the recording of the call. Give it a listen, but know you’re already predisposed to recognize it as an AI voice.
Here’s my struggle. If this was fine, and it was, what isn’t fine? Where is the line, and does anyone get to draw it, or does it just get drawn by whatever works well enough?
I don’t have an answer to that question. I’m not sure I’m supposed to yet.
What I know is that this call couldn’t have happened a year ago. The technology wasn’t quite there. And now it is, and it works, and I was satisfied, and I’m still thinking about it the next day. That probably means something. Definitely means something.
Alice got me what I needed. I just don’t know what that means for the next person who calls and doesn’t think to ask. And for all of us in general.
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