WhatsApp: The Silent Front Door to AI Over the last two decades, we’ve watched communications shift, from desktop dialers and browser-based apps to mobile-first, message-driven interactions. We’ve seen the rise (and often the fall) of platform plays. But now, as AI becomes the next wave, the real story isn’t in new apps. It’s in existing … Read more
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Why I Say “Press 1” Is Dead
Since the early days of VoIP, we’ve been talking about the demise of legacy telephony structures. “Press 1 for sales” was always a symptom of old-school thinking. Now, with OpenAI’s real-time SIP integration, that era is finally over. For years, I’ve advocated for smarter systems. In 2018, when Dialpad acquired TalkIQ, I wrote how AI … Read more
The AI Market Is Splitting Into Two Distinct Paths
After diving into the merged findings from Bessemer’s “State of AI 2025” and Janelle Tang’s Next Big Teng’s analysis, I’m struck by how the AI startup landscape is crystallizing into a fascinating dichotomy. Three years post-ChatGPT, we’re seeing the market mature in ways that tell us a lot about where things are headed. What’s immediately … Read more
Agentic AI Has Arrived — And It’s Not Waiting for You to Catch Up
A few weeks back, I shared my early take on Agentic AI and why it matters. At the time, it felt like I was seeing around corners. This week confirmed it: Agentic AI isn’t just coming. It’s already here, and the pace of activity is dizzying. Let’s start with security. CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform helped bring … Read more
Telephony-First Voice AI: Why Most Startups Get It Wrong—and Who’s Getting It Right
The recent CB Insights* report on Voice AI consolidation is a clear sign of the sector’s heat. But while capital is flowing and M&A is looming, most of the startups being celebrated have one major flaw: they’re not telephony-first. They treat voice like a data event, not a communications foundation. They analyze conversations after the … Read more
Why Telecom Needs Agentic AI: A Strategic Imperative for the Next Decade
Over the years, I’ve written extensively about telecom’s transformation—whether it was the rise of VoIP, the impact of cloud-based communications, or the integration of AI with platforms like Dialpad and TalkIQ. But what’s coming next isn’t just an evolution—it’s a revolution. And it’s being led by Agentic AI. 📡 From Reactive to Proactive: Why Now?The … Read more
AI Is Taking the Call, And That’s a Good Thing
July 8, 2025, may go down as a landmark day in the evolution of intelligent communications. Two announcements—one in insurance, the other in payments—signal how AI, and specifically voice AI, is not just reshaping industries, it’s streamlining the very friction points that have long frustrated both businesses and their customers. First, the partnership between Liberate … Read more
Send the Bot and Skip the Meeting
There’s a new kind of meeting attendee showing up on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, the silent, invisible kind that never turns on their camera, never unmutes, and never speaks. No, it’s not your disinterested coworker. It’s their AI note taker. And you know what? That’s a good thing. The Washington Post recently spotlighted how … Read more
Zoom Gets Smarter, More Social, Oh, and More Competitive
Zoom just rolled out a major set of upgrades, and if you’re watching the collaboration space closely, this is more than just a routine refresh. It’s a signal: Zoom wants to own more of your workday. The June 30, 2025, updates position Zoom as more than a video meeting app. It’s now a serious platform … Read more
The Future Is Conversational—Twilio, Zoom, and Microsoft Lead the Charge in CPaaS Evolution
If June has shown us anything, it’s that the CPaaS space isn’t just alive—it’s on fire. From Twilio’s SIGNAL in São Paulo to Zoom’s Developer Summit and Microsoft’s continued revamp of Teams, we’re watching the foundations of business communication get rewritten in real time. 📞 Twilio Turns the Page at SIGNAL São Paulo Twilio laid … Read more