SoftBank Corp Develops AI to Alleviate Stress on Call Centre Workers by 'Softening' Angry Customer Calls
Dealing with irate customers can be extremely stressful for call centre workers, but Japan's SoftBank Corp believes it has a solution: artificial intelligence-enabled software that can soften the tone of customers' voices. As the country's third-largest telecom provider, SoftBank aims to begin testing this innovative technology both internally and externally within the next year, with plans to commercialize it by the end of March 2026.
Dealing with irate customers can be extremely stressful for call centre workers, but Japan's SoftBank Corp believes it has a solution: artificial intelligence-enabled software that can soften the tone of customers' voices. As the country’s third-largest telecom provider, SoftBank aims to begin testing this innovative technology both internally and externally within the next year, with plans to commercialize it by the end of March 2026.
"We are working on the development of a solution that can convert the customer's voice into a calm conversational tone and deliver it to workers using AI-enabled emotion recognition and voice processing technology," SoftBank stated in a press release on Wednesday. The technology is designed to recognize the emotional state of a customer's voice and adjust it to a calmer tone before it reaches the call centre worker. This aims to maintain positive relationships with customers through effective communication while ensuring the psychological welfare of the workers.
Japan is renowned for its high standards of customer service. However, the issue of harassment towards staff in the service industry has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. The government is considering legislation to bolster protections for workers against such abuses.
In a survey conducted earlier this year by UA Zensen, a labor union representing workers primarily in the service and retail industries, approximately half of the 33,000 respondents reported experiencing customer harassment over the past two years. These incidents included verbal abuse, intimidation, and, in extreme cases, demands for workers to kneel and bow in apology. Over 100 respondents indicated that they had sought psychiatric help due to such harassment.
SoftBank’s AI initiative could be a significant step towards mitigating the stress and mental health challenges faced by call centre workers. By transforming aggressive or abusive tones into more neutral or friendly ones, the company hopes to create a more supportive and less hostile working environment. This technology not only aims to improve the well-being of employees but also to enhance overall customer service experiences by fostering more constructive interactions.
As SoftBank moves forward with its plans, the potential impact of this technology on the call centre industry and broader service sectors could be profound, offering a technological solution to a pervasive problem. The successful implementation and commercialisation of this AI-driven software could set a new standard for how companies manage customer service and employee welfare in high-stress environments.