Customer engagement platform Twilio has partnered with OpenAI to develop an integration with the company's Realtime API, bringing speech-to-speech (S2S) capabilities to its platform. The move will enable over 300,000 Twilio customers and more than 10 million developers to build conversational AI virtual agents using OpenAI's GPT-4 model.

The integration builds on previous collaborations between Twilio and OpenAI, enhancing the conversational experience with AI virtual agents that can engage in voice conversations that feel more like real human dialogue.

"Integrating OpenAI's Realtime API with Twilio's platform enables businesses to offer more natural, real-time AI voice interactions at scale," said Chief Product Officer at Twilio Communications, Inbal Shani. "Businesses can use this to create voice experiences that feel more human and can reduce operational costs and drive higher customer satisfaction."

The Realtime API reduces latency and factors in conversation pacing, interruption handling, tone, and balance between speaking and listening, making it particularly relevant for customer service and sales, as well as social impact. The integration will allow businesses to incorporate conversational AI virtual agents into their workflows, connecting these capabilities to Twilio's customer engagement platform.

"The Realtime API's speech-to-speech capabilities are designed to address strong customer demand for conversational AI solutions," said Head of Product, API at OpenAI, Olivier Godement. "We're thrilled to collaborate with Twilio to deliver a world class developer experience for building and deploying conversational AI agents."