Voice First, Future Ready: Why Voice-First Design and Chatbots Are Reshaping Customer Engagement

Voice technology is no longer optional; it's becoming the critical channel for scalable, meaningful customer engagement.

The global conversational AI market is projected to explode from $12.24 billion in 2024 to $61.69 billion by 2032, signaling a fundamental shift in how customers expect to interact with businesses.

While chatbots have served their purpose, the integration of generative AI is creating voice-powered conversational AI that can understand not just what customers say, but how they say it, detecting emotion and context like never before.

This evolution from simple chatbots to sophisticated voice-powered assistants represents a pivotal moment. Companies that master conversation design principles and voice-first strategies will gain a competitive advantage, while those that lag behind risk losing customers to more intuitive, engaging experiences.

The question isn't whether voice will dominate conversational AI—it's whether your organization is ready to harness its power.

Designing for voice requires fundamentally different principles than visual interfaces. Effective conversation design for chatbots and voice AI must be user-centric, context-aware, and goal-oriented.

The cooperative principle — where AI actively collaborates with users to achieve their goals — becomes critical for success.

Key conversation design principles include:

• Context Awareness: Remembering previous interactions to avoid repetition
• Clarity and Brevity: Voice interactions are ephemeral and require concise responses
• Emotional Intelligence: Understanding tone, mood, and user intent
• Brand Consistency: Maintaining authentic voice that reflects company values
• Inclusive Design: Accommodating diverse accents, dialects, and accessibility needs

Yet implementing these principles at scale presents significant challenges that many teams struggle to overcome alone.

Voice-powered conversational AI is already transforming industries:

Healthcare

Abridge AI captures and transcribes patient-clinician conversations, reducing administrative burden and improving care quality.

Customer Service

Advanced voice assistants handle complex inquiries with human-like empathy while maintaining consistent brand voice, improving satisfaction and reducing costs.

Automotive

In-car voice assistants provide navigation, entertainment, and emergency services without compromising driver safety.

Despite these successes, many organizations struggle with implementation challenges, from technical architecture to user experience design.

While voice AI's potential is immense, scaling these solutions presents complex challenges:

• Technical Hurdles: Latency, infrastructure variability, and integration complexity
• Regulatory Compliance: Data sovereignty and privacy regulations across jurisdictions
• User Experience: Balancing automation with human touch
• Cost Management: Controlling expenses while maintaining quality
• Design Complexity: Creating truly intuitive, inclusive experiences

Many teams find themselves overwhelmed by these interconnected challenges, struggling to move beyond pilot projects to enterprise-wide success.

The future of conversational AI is voice-first, but success requires more than technology; it demands strategic expertise, practical insights, and proven methodologies. The challenges are real, but so are the solutions.

Ready to navigate the voice AI revolution successfully? Join Verint experts Bas Hiemstra and Jacob Murray-White on September 18th, 2025, at 4 PM CET for a practical webinar that explores the rise of voice-first design, the role of generative AI, and how to scale voice solutions responsibly.

Key takeaways include:

• The voice-first paradigm: Why behavioural and tech shifts make voice critical now.
• Generative AI in action: How LLMs enable memory, emotion detection, and natural conversation.
• Designing for the ear: Tools and strategies to create intuitive, inclusive, and on-brand experiences.
• Lessons from the field: Real-world successes and backup plans when GenAI falls short.
• Scaling with trust: Building secure, reliable, and future-ready architectures for voice AI.

Many teams struggle to balance generative and predictable AI, control costs, and design experiences that resonate. This webinar offers clear, practical strategies backed by field expertise—so you can move beyond the hype and apply solutions that work in the real world.

Don't let your organization fall behind in the voice revolution. The webinar offers field-tested strategies from experts who've helped organizations across industries successfully implement voice AI solutions.

Register now to secure your competitive advantage in conversational AI.

The voice-first future is here. The question is whether you'll lead it or follow it.

Bas Hiemstra — Solutions Consultant, Verint

Bas brings over 20 years of experience in customer engagement technologies. At Verint, he specializes in integrating intelligent assistants as strategic digital collaborators, helping organizations improve customer service. He frequently shares insights at major industry events such as Customer Contact Week Europe Summit.

Jacob Murray-White — Director, Go-To-Market Strategy (Conversational AI), Verint

Jacob leads Verint’s global go-to-market strategy for conversational AI. With a background in digital-first engagement and contact center innovation, he has helped organizations across APAC, the US, and Australia modernize customer experiences with scalable voice solutions.