--- title: "World’s Largest Call Center Deploys AI to “Neutralize the Accent” of Indian Employees" description: "The French company that owns the largest call center is using similar technology to \"soften\" its India-based agents' accents." date: "2025-02-28" modified: "2025-02-28" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/call-center-ai-accent" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "accent translation" - "ai voice" - "call centers" - "outsourcing" --- # World’s Largest Call Center Deploys AI to “Neutralize the Accent” of Indian Employees ![The French company that owns the largest call center is using similar technology to "soften" its India-based agents' accents.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Fresh off the heels of the [AI-powered accent adjustments]() in the Oscar-nominated 2024 film "The Brutalist," the French company that owns the largest call center in the world has announced that it's using similar technology to "soften" its India-based agents' accents. As [*Bloomberg* reports](), the Paris-based outsourcing company Teleperformance — which works with clients including Apple, Samsung, and TikTok — invested $13 million earlier this year in Sanas AI, a "[real-time speech understanding platform]()" that boasts a so-called "accent translation" feature that uses machine learning to scrub the accents of overseas customer service workers. In an interview with *Bloomberg*, Teleperformance deputy chief executive officer Thomas Mackenbrock said that Sanas' technology, which his employer has gained exclusive rights to through its partnership, can "neutralize the accent of the Indian speaker with zero latency." "When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard to hear, to understand," Mackebrock said. Translating agents' accents to make them easier for native English speakers on the other end of the line "creates more intimacy, increases the customer satisfaction, and reduces the average handling time," he added. "It is a win-win for both parties," the deputy CEO enthused. Despite those sentiments, however, the markets seem to disagree. As [*Investing.com* reports](), Teleconference stock fell 11 percent after the company announced in an investor call earlier in the week that it was investing up to $104 million in AI technologies. Though Teleperformance reported a consolidated revenue of $11 billion in 2024, per that call, investors seem to think the outsourcing company "missed expectations despite higher-than anticipated synergies," JPMorgan analyst Sylvia Barker wrote in a note viewed by *Bloomberg*. Reading between the lines, it sounds like investors aren't impressed with that big spend on AI technology — or, perhaps, are displeased by the optics of "neutralizing" call center workers' accents. In classic C-suite-speak, the deputy CEO spun Teleperformance's accent translation investments as a boon for human labor in the age of AI. "AI will be ubiquitous, it is already today," Mackenbrock told *Bloomberg*. "But in order to build connections, customer experience, branding awareness, the human element will be incredibly important." **More on AI in the workplace:** [*Study Finds That People Who Entrust Tasks to AI Are Losing Critical Thinking Skills*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()