Contact Center Pipeline March 2026 | Page 35

However, these methods and tools have their own challenges and controversies, like the risk of reinforcing customer biases against agents who speak“ differently.” AI applications also hold the potential to fail, creating friction points of their own.

Sanas, a speech AI company, has developed“ Real-Time Accent Translation” technology. To learn more about accent issues, and the benefits and challenges of accent translation, we had a virtual conversation with company CEO and co-founder, Sharath Keshava Narayana.

LET’ S SET THE BASELINE. WHAT KINDS OF UNDERSTANDABILITY CHALLENGES DO BOTH CUSTOMERS AND AGENTS FACE DURING VOICE INTERACTIONS? HOW DO THESE ISSUES AFFECT CX AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY?

A: Customers and agents struggle with more than just accents. Noise, call quality, fatigue, and speaking pace all influence how clearly we understand one another.

When people can’ t hear, or be heard, they repeat themselves, interactions take longer, and frustration rises on both sides. Over time, these moments affect trust and reduce customer satisfaction and loyalty. Clear communication isn’ t just a nice-to-have; it’ s foundational to a positive CX.

IN TERMS OF SCALE AND IMPACT ON CX, HOW DO AGENT AND CUSTOMER ACCENTS COMPARE WITH OTHER CHALLENGES, LIKE AUDIO QUALITY?

A: Technical issues like jitter or low bandwidth can distort a sentence, but accent-related misunderstandings can distort the entire relationship.

Infrastructure fixes can resolve audio quality issues. Accent friction is different; it’ s a human barrier that persists even when every technical variable is perfect. It often shows up in subtle ways, like hesitation or misinterpretation.

IT HAS BEEN POINTED OUT THAT GEOGRAPHI- CAL / REGIONAL ACCENTS ESPECIALLY, HAVE BEEN FADING AWAY THANKS TO MASS MEDIA AND MIGRATION. SO, IN THE FACE OF THIS, IS THE ACCENT ISSUE THROUGH THE CONTACT CENTER STILL STRONG AND RELEVANT AND IF SO, WHY?

A: You’ re right about global media and mobility flattening regional accents in many social and professional contexts, but contact centers operate under very different conditions.

These are short, high-stress, audio-only transactional interactions, often between people from very different cultural backgrounds. In those environments, subtle phonetic differences can increase cognitive load and create real friction.

-- SHARATH KESHAVA NARAYANA

Customers aren’ t reacting to accents themselves so much as the effort required to understand and be understood. That added effort compounds quickly, increasing frustration, slowing resolution, and lowering overall satisfaction.

As global CX has scaled, the volume of cross-accent interactions has grown faster than accents have converged. In practice, accent-related friction hasn’ t faded; it’ s become more concentrated in the moments that define CX.

ACCENT TRANSLATION, ACCENT MODIFICATION

DESCRIBE ACCENT TRANSLATION. WHAT IS IT AND WHAT IS ITS OBJECTIVE?

A: Accent translation enhances clarity by analyzing the sound waves in incoming speech and adjusting them, so listeners hear a clearer, more familiar pronunciation along with the original tone and intonation.

When it comes down to it, accents are simply tiny variations in sound waves. This technology helps eliminate noise, reverb, and echo in real time to ensure the most human, authentic experience possible on both ends of the call.

IS ACCENT TRANSLATION DIFFERENT FROM ACCENT MODIFICATION AND IF SO, HOW?

A: In my view,“ accent modification” and Sanas’ term“ accent translation” can be used to describe the same basic idea: adjusting speech so it’ s easier for listeners to understand across accents.

The difference is mainly historical and contextual. Accent modification is an older phrase rooted in human coaching and may imply permanently changing the way someone speaks through training.

We coined the term accent translation to describe technology that transforms the acoustic patterns of speech while enabling the speaker to talk naturally and preserving meaning, intent, and voice identity.

In practice, both terms can describe the same outcome, but we prefer accent translation to make it clearer that the change happens with technology, not in the person.

HASN’ T ACCENT TRANSLATION BEEN AROUND FOR SOME TIME, SUCH AS THROUGH AGENT TRAINING?

A: Traditional accent training can take months and often pressures people to change how they naturally speak. Accent translation technology enables clarity instantly and consistently while also preserving the speaker ' s unique voice characteristics like pitch, cadence, and emotion.

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