Truecaller and Microsoft launch AI-powered voice cloning for call responses

Innovative feature allows users to answer calls with their own synthetic voice, enhancing call screening and personalisation

Truecaller has unveiled a groundbreaking feature enabling paying customers to use its AI-powered Assistant to answer phone calls using a clone of their own voice. This development stems from a collaboration with Microsoft, utilising the tech giant’s Personal Voice technology, introduced in November as part of Azure AI Speech.

The AI Assistant, accessible to Truecaller’s paid users, can now replicate a user’s voice to greet and respond to callers, complementing its existing system-generated voice options. This assistant, launched in September 2022, is also capable of screening unknown calls, taking messages, responding on behalf of the user, and recording calls.

To activate this feature, Truecaller users must record a short script in their voice, providing the necessary consent to create a digital replica. Once configured, the Assistant can start answering calls using this synthetic voice. While users can usually customise the introductory greeting for callers, Truecaller has restricted this customisation for personal voices to ensure clarity that the voice is synthetic. However, users can still tailor follow-up responses to their preferences.

Azure AI Speech’s personal voice feature incorporates a watermark on speech outputs, allowing a detector tool to identify synthetic audio, ensuring transparency and authenticity. This technology is currently available through limited registration-only access.

“The personal voice feature allows our users to use their own voice, enabling the digital assistant to sound just like them when handling incoming calls,” Raphael Mimoun, Product Director and General Manager of Truecaller Israel, stated. “This groundbreaking capability not only adds a touch of familiarity and comfort for the users but also showcases the power of AI in transforming the way we interact with our digital assistants.”

Truecaller will begin rolling out the personal voice feature in the coming weeks, initially targeting users in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, Sweden, and Chile. The feature will first be available to public beta users before being extended to all users in these regions.