Best Team PolyAI Podcasts (2025)

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Why do LLMs ramble on and on? (with Oliver Shoulson, Lead Dialogue Designer at PolyAI) 33:01

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5d ago33:01

33:01

Send us a text Large language models are powerful tools — but why do they ramble on and on instead of just getting to the point? In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Oliver Shoulson, one of PolyAI’s original dialogue designers, to unpack why LLMs talk the way they do, and what that means for building natural-so…

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Are "silent complaints" killing your brand? (with Adrian Swinscoe of Punk CX) 37:25

12d ago37:25

37:25

Send us a text Most companies measure CX through surveys, reviews, and dashboards. But there is real danger in “silent complaints”: the underwhelming experiences that customers never report, but quietly share with friends or that stop them from coming back. In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, your host Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Adrian …

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Is agentic AI the answer to broken analytics? 29:41

19d ago29:41

29:41

Send us a text Analytics has always been the hardest part of the contact center. Dashboards are slow, incomplete, and rarely used outside of specialist teams. But what if analytics could be as simple as asking a question? In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, your host Nikola Mrkšić brings back Damian Sasso to explore how agentic AI is tran…

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Your new favorite colleagues aren’t human 32:15

27d ago32:15

32:15

Send us a text We all know AI agents can answer calls (with varying success rates depending upon their sophistication). But what if AI agents could also help CX leaders analyze their deployments, ask questions about their unique challenges and opportunities, and continuously improve? In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, Nikola Mrkšić sits …

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Did OpenAI’s Realtime API just change everything? 32:33

29d ago32:33

32:33

Send us a text 🚨 OpenAI just made its Realtime API generally available, and it's got everyone talking. But is it a true game-changer, or just another update? In this episode, your host Nikola Mrkšić (Co-founder & CEO, PolyAI) is joined by Shawn Wen (Co-founder and CTO, PolyAI) to break down what this release really means: 🔹 Why Realtime API could k…

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Behind the Tech: How Dialogue Design Really Works (Deep Learning with PolyAI podcast, Ep. 82) 39:22

1M ago39:22

39:22

Send us a text Ever wonder what really makes an AI voice feel human? In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, an all-star panel from our dialogue design and engineering teams takes you behind-the-scenes to share how the hardest part of CX automation actually works. From latency and personalization to multichannel design and our in-house Raven …

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Raven v2 and the Race to Smarter Voice Agents with Matt Henderson (Deep Learning with PolyAI, Episode 81) 33:07

1M ago33:07

33:07

Send us a text In this episode, your host Nikola Mrkšić sits down with Matt Henderson, VP of Research at PolyAI, to unpack the state of large language models, their quirks, and what really matters when building smarter voice agents for customer service. Join us for a discussion on: - Why GPT-5 may feel more incremental than game-changing - Why reas…

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“Everybody wants AI, nobody wants BS” with Brian Jeppesen, Fertitta Entertainment 33:22

2M ago33:22

33:22

Send us a text Brian Jeppesen, who serves as Director, Contact Center Operations at Fertitta Entertainment, joined your host Nikola Mrkšić to discuss his vision for the AI-powered contact center. Listen to hear Nikola and Brian cover: • How to overcome the challenges of staffing call centers during high-demand periods, including with virtual agents…

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078: Forward deployed engineers: From the frontline of bringing AI to the world 28:18

2M ago28:18

28:18

Send us a text This week, Nikola is joined by Becky Kershaw, Deployments Lead at PolyAI. Becky shares how using her own British accent for AI voice cloning increased engagement in outbound sales, showing the power of personalization and cultural fit. They also discuss the crucial role of forward-deployed engineers—AI engineers, product managers, an…

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077: Private equity roll-up strategies for AI, with Nathan Benaich 26:26

2M ago26:26

26:26

Send us a text Following up from Nikola Mrkšić and Nathan Benaich's recent article for Fortune -- ‘AI rollup’ investors think services firms can trade more like software companies. Here’s what they get wrong. Read here -- https://fortune.com/2025/06/27/ai-rollup-investment-strategy/ The buzz around AI roll-ups - buying low-margin service businesses…

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079: GPT-5 Era Starts Now: The AI Arms Race Just Escalated 20:44

2M ago20:44

20:44

Send us a text PolyAI co-founder and CTO Shawn Wen joins Nikola for a deep dive into the just-released OpenAI GPT-5 model. From model-flipping and 4o's depreciation to curbing sycophancy and determining which LLM out there is #1 for coding, they cover it all. Join us for a discussion on: • OpenAI's bold approach to upgrading and removing models 2 •…

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Building Glasgow's tech ecosystem with STAC's Paul Wilson 24:09

2M ago24:09

24:09

In this episode, we sit down with Paul Wilson, founder and CEO of STAC (SmartThings Accelerator Centre) in Glasgow, to explore how Scotland can build a competitive cluster of homegrown tech companies. Drawing from his 25+ years in international tech, Paul shares insights on creating sustainable tech ecosystems and supporting deep tech startups, and…

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076: AI rollups: all VC sizzle and no stake? Thoughts from a recent Fortune article. 22:38

3M ago22:38

22:38

Send us a text Fortune article: http://fortune.com/2025/06/27/ai-rollup-investment-strategy/ Nikola reflects on his recent Fortune commentary (above) into the transformative potential of AI rollup strategies in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). He and Damien discuss the concept of AI rollups (where private equity firms consolidate service compani…

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075: Human agent & AI cohesion in the contact center. What will it take? 23:11

3M ago23:11

23:11

Send us a text Nikola and Damien are back to discuss the ongoing evolution of AI in the contact center industry. We'll explore whether AI is truly replacing human workers or simply augmenting their capabilities, covering Klarna's automation efforts and recent Gartner predictions, and analyzing the challenges and opportunities in implementing AI sol…

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074: AI and the State of Financial Services 20:11

4M ago20:11

20:11

Send us a text VP of Product Marketing Brian Thompson joins Nikola to discuss the current state and future prospects of AI in financial services, including banking and insurance. The chat covers the importance of human oversight in AI deployments, the evolving landscape in banking and FinTech, optimization of back-office processes, and how financia…

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Data Literacy and Career Empowerment with Bhagya Reddy 20:27

4M ago20:27

20:27

In this episode, we sit down with Bhagya Reddy, a data professional with over 20 years of experience, to discuss the critical importance of data literacy across organisations and how data skills can empower career transitions. Bhagya shares her journey of building a comprehensive data university at Virgin Media, training over 10,000 employees, and …

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073: What are everyday people using LLMs for, really? 21:52

4M ago21:52

21:52

Send us a text Damien and Nikola are back to discuss the transformative impact of generative AI in our everyday lives. The conversation covers everything from the rise of LLMs in personal development and therapy to DIY projects and coding. Discover how generative AI is reshaping industries, solving everyday problems, and why it's gaining traction i…

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072: Introducing Owl: PolyAI's in-house speech recognition model 21:46

4M ago21:46

21:46

Send us a text Guest host Meghan Berton and VP of Engineering Razvan Kusztos cover the release of PolyAI's Owl ASR model, while dishing goss on the intricacies of developing high-performing speech recognition models. They discuss the significance of in-house SLU tech, the challenges of ensuring accuracy across different accents and environments, an…

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071: Differentiation in a generative AI era 20:14

5M ago20:14

20:14

Send us a text Damien and Nikola discuss the brave initiatives taken by executives in the field of generative AI, their successes, and challenges. Nikola Mrkšić, CEO and co-founder of PolyAI, shares insights on differentiation in the generative AI space, the viability of build vs. buy decisions, and the importance of proof of concept in AI projects…

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070: The journey from digital-first to AI-first, and how to do it right 24:03

5M ago24:03

24:03

Send us a text Damien and Nikola discuss the implications of AI-first approaches in industries, with a focus on how companies like Duolingo and Klarna are navigating the AI transformation. We explore the concept of an intelligent enterprise operating system and debate whether traditional companies can adapt quickly enough. Additionally, we examine …

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Building Voice Tech for Education with Mauro Nicolao at Soapbox Labs 22:22

5M ago22:22

22:22

In this conversation, I sit down with Mauro Nicolao, Director of Data Science at Soapbox Labs - a trailblazing company building voice technology designed specifically for children. Recently acquired by Curriculum Associates, Soapbox Labs is now bringing their specialised speech recognition technology to over 13 million students across the US. From …

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069: Announcing Agent Studio, the world's only voice-first conversational AI platform 19:53

6M ago19:53

19:53

Send us a text In this buzzy episode, Damien hosts PolyAI's Senior Vice President of Product, Devidas Desai, to announce the launch of Agent Studio, the world's only voice-first omnichannel CX platform for AI agents. Devidas provides an in-depth look into what Agent Studio is and discusses how the platform has been rigorously tested with live enter…

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068: DOGE bites federal phone lines. Are Elon & Co. shutting down toll-free? 16:46

6M ago16:46

16:46

Send us a text Damien and Nikola are back to discuss the impact of removing toll-free numbers for government services, focusing on the DOGE/Social Security Administration's briefly considered decision. They explore the potential operational and cost-saving implications of voice AI in government services, the challenges of optimizing such large syst…

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Scaling to Series C with Shawn Wen, CTO at PolyAI 28:10

6M ago28:10

28:10

In this conversation, Shawn Wen, co-founder and CTO of PolyAI, shares insights into the journey of building PolyAI into a successful series C AI startup focused on automating phone calls for contact centres. He discusses the early days of PolyAI, the challenges faced in scaling the team, the importance of company culture, and the evolving role of a…

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Empowering Data and AI teams with Chris Pedder from Obrizum 20:41

6M ago20:41

20:41

Find Chris on LinkedIn, and learn about Obrizum. I talk with Chris Pedder from Obrizum. Chris started his career as a Physicist, before moving into AI and Data. He is now Chief Data and AI Officer at Obrizum, who use AI to deliver adaptive learning. In this episode we talk about the behaviours that Chris intentionally fosters in his team, including…

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Conversational AI for Authentic Connections with Sarah Coward 20:06

7M ago20:06

20:06

Find Sarah on LinkedIn, and learn about In The Room by visiting intheroom.global Today we're talking with Sarah Coward from In The Room - who use conversational AI technology to enable organisations to make their best expert available to their audiences 24/7, 365 days a year. We cover: The Origin Story of In the Room The Importance of Authenticity …

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067: Sonnet 3.7 + Orion, AWS goes agentic & the US Patent Office sets rules 20:30

7M ago20:30

20:30

Send us a text Nikola and Damien chew the fat about developments from AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI, comparing their new models: Claude 3.7 and GPT-4.5 Orion, and where they place in the consumer and enterprise markets. We also touch on OAI's specialized agents for hire, Amazon's new agentic AI division and the recent stance of the US Patent Offic…

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ML Platform teams with Prassanna Ravishankar from Papercup 23:26

7M ago23:26

23:26

Find Prass on LinkedIn, and find his Feed Forward podcast on Spotify & YouTube. In this first episode, I talk with Prassanna Ravishankar from Papercup. Prass started his career as a computer vision researcher, before moving into Engineering & MLOps. He now leads the ML platform initiative at Papercup, which is a London-based startup providing AI du…

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066: The anatomy of telephony, part 3 - Predictions 17:14

7M ago17:14

17:14

Send us a text In the closing episode of Deep Learning's deep dive on telephony, Nikola and Oisin discuss innovative ideas in telephony, especially the concept of using a universal AI ringtone to replace lengthy warnings and terms during calls. They debate the efficacy of this idea and its potential global impact on user experience. They also touch…

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065: The anatomy of telephony, part 2 - Evolution 22:06

7M ago22:06

22:06

Send us a text The second episode of a three-part miniseries sees Deep Learning with PolyAI continue exploring the intricate world of telephony and VoIP! Nikola welcomes back Oisin Glenn, VP of Solutions Consulting, to chat about the historical development, current technologies, and the complexities of modern telephony. They discuss everything from…

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064: The anatomy of telephony, part 1 - Origins 23:06

7M ago23:06

23:06

Send us a text Nikola welcomes Oisin Glynn, VP of Solution Consulting, to discuss the fascinating history and evolution of modern telephony. Going back to the inception of telephone systems, from their early manual connections to the adoption of the PSTN and the advent of private branch exchanges (PBX), the conversation touches on the impact of the…

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063: Surprising findings from PolyAI's recent CS trends report 25:02

8M ago25:02

25:02

Send us a text ** Check out the report that inspired the episode ** Damien welcomes PolyAI's senior director of brand, Kylie Whitehead, to discuss the findings from two comprehensive surveys highlighting trends in customer experience (CX) and contact center leadership. Learn about the evolving roles of CX leaders and the increasing influence of AI,…

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062: AI's Sputnik moment? DeepSeek R1 has entered the chat(GPT). 18:47

8M ago18:47

18:47

Send us a text Bonus breaking news episode of the Deep Learning with PolyAI podcast! Hosts Damien and Nikola chat about the recent release of DeepSeek's open-source R1 model, which has sparked widespread reaction across the tech world. The R1 model, created with limited resources, has matched or exceeded benchmarks of leading models from OpenAI and…

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061: An early look at OpenAI's Operator 19:50

8M ago19:50

19:50

Send us a text Kylie takes the helm for this episode of Deep Learning with Poly AI, where she and PolyAI CEO Nikola Mrkšić chat(no GPT) about OpenAI's latest innovation: the Operator agent. From the concept of AI performing tasks such as ordering groceries, booking travel, and making restaurant reservations, to live demos of agentic requests, Kylie…

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060: A deep dive into the UK's AI Opportunities Action Plan 22:30

9M ago22:30

22:30

Send us a text Damien and Nikola (CEO & Co-Founder of PolyAI) talk about the recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan. The conversation highlights the UK’s historical contributions to AI, the challenges it faces due to American tech dominance, and the strategic moves to build a competitive AI ecosystem. They touch on the importance of infras…

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059: AI in 2024: A really big year in review. 24:40

9M ago24:40

24:40

Send us a text In this episode of 'Deep Learning with PolyAI,' Damien and Nikola reflect on the significant trends in AI throughout 2024, including the rise of generative AI, the stabilization of models, and increased enterprise adoption. They also discuss the importance of customer experience and data management in AI applications. As they look fo…

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058: The rise of CAIOs and AI competency centers 25:43

9M ago25:43

25:43

Send us a text Orgs establishing AI competency centers or hiring Chief AI Officers are heavy in 2025 predictions. Sit beside the fire with Damien and Nikola Mrkšić, CEO and co-founder of PolyAI, in this enlightening episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, as we tap into the emergence of Chief AI Officers (CAIOs) in organizations, their responsibiliti…

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057: What the #$%& is agentic AI anyway? 21:23

10M ago21:23

21:23

Send us a text Time to decode the buzzterm du jour - in this episode of Deep Learning, Damien and Nikola discuss the emerging (or is it?) concept of agentic AI, and how AI systems that act autonomously and perform complex tasks could transform individual and corporate life. From planning vacations to automating business processes, we talk about the…

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056: The customer service conundrum, as indicated by a bunch of survey data. 23:06

10M ago23:06

23:06

Send us a text In this episode of 'Deep Learning with PolyAI,' host Damien and guest Kylie Whitehead, Senior Director of Brand and Marketing at PolyAI, discuss the evolving expectations of consumers when it comes to customer service, especially in the context of automation. Drawing from key industry survey results, they explore how organizations ca…

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055: PolyAI's VOX Horizons annual conference recap 26:10

11M ago26:10

26:10

Send us a text ** Catch a replay of VOX here: https://poly.ai/vox-2024/ ** Damien and PolyAI CEO Nikola Mrkšić as they rewind to Thursday, November 14th, covering the evolution and challenges of automatic speech recognition in voice AI and automation for contact centers, emerging trends in CX and customer satisfaction, and tips on boosting ops with…

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054: CX horror stories and AI armor for contact center agents 23:31

11M ago23:31

23:31

Send us a text Damien and Nikola talk rising aggression towards contact center agents and the protective role of AI automation. Highlighting alarming stats like 65% of people abandoning brands after one bad experience and a 90% increase in customer service abuse during peak seasons, they address the issue and how AI can deflect initial customer rag…

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053: Generative AI's Power Paradox. Can it prevent its own energy crisis? 19:35

12M ago19:35

19:35

Send us a text In this episode of Deep Learning with PolyAI, join Damien and Nikola as they kibbitz over the immense energy demands of modern data centers powering advanced AI models. They explore how tech giants like Microsoft and Google are turning to nuclear energy, including the potential of fusion power, to meet these needs. From comparing the…

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052: Speech Synthesis - The anatomy of a voice assistant #4 28:46

12M ago28:46

28:46

Send us a text In this concluding episode of the 'Anatomy of a Voice Assistant' series, CTO Shawn Wen discusses the intricacies of speech synthesis in voice assistants, emphasizing the importance of authentic, human-like voices in improving user engagement and containment rates. Kylie and Shawn chat about the evolution of AI voices from the early d…

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051: Secret Agentforce: Declassified! And more from Dreamforce 2024 18:11

12M ago18:11

18:11

Send us a text Our own Brian Thompson, VP of Product Marketing, joins CEO Nikola to discuss Salesforce's recent AgentForce announcement. This new initiative is presented as a big shift toward autonomous AI agents within large enterprises and while at least one the dyad sees it as a rebrand of Einstein Copilot, others may view it as a step towards m…

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050: Dialogue design. So hot right now. 22:45

1y ago22:45

22:45

Send us a text 50th episode! Damien welocmes newcomer to the pod Oliver Shoulson, PolyAI's senior dialogue designer, about what dialogue design entails and why it's crucial in the era of advanced language models (LLMs). Oliver explains that dialogue design goes beyond just scripting responses; it's about making AI interactions feel natural to human…

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049: OpenAI o1, Apple Intelligence, and Exowatt... oh my! 23:54

1y ago23:54

23:54

Send us a text Damien and CEO Nikola Mrkšić discuss recent AI headlines, including Klarna's decision to ditch Salesforce and Workday, Apple's new on-device AI approach and the Apple Intelligence hype, Sam Altman's investment in solar storage, and the big enchilada: an early take of OpenAI's new 'Strawberry' o1 reasoning model, highlighting its impr…

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048: Dissecting the actual impact of the new Council of Europe AI Framework Convention and treaty 27:36

1y ago27:36

27:36

Send us a text Host Damien and PolyAI CEO Nikola Mrkšić discuss the latest in an increasingly vague spate of regulatory actions: this time, the AI Framework Convention treaty from the Council of Europe. The treaty, aiming to balance AI advancements with human rights and democracy, is broken down for its practicality, technological neutrality, and t…

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047: The anatomy of a voice assistant, part 3 - Large language models (LLMs) 27:46

1y ago27:46

27:46

Send us a text It's the third in a series of technical deep dives for building IVAs, and for this episode, it's all about LLMs. Kylie chats with Shawn Wen, co-founder and CTO at PolyAI, who explains why LLMs can accomplish 70% of what’s needed for voice assistants, and more importantly: what's involved in the remaining 30%. The discussion touches o…

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046: What's with the anti-AI movement among some brands, and will it last? 25:34

1y ago25:34

25:34

Send us a text Damien and Nikola chat about the controversial rise of anti-AI sentiment among brands, especially in the creator industry. They explore recent anti-AI pledges by notable brands like Procreate and Dove, scrutinizing whether these are sincere stances or marketing tactics, deliberating the balance between human artistry and technologica…

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045: Conversations with Kenn So, Generational.pub 24:10

1y ago24:10

24:10

Send us a text Damien interviews Kenn So, an AI researcher, enthusiast and author of the Generational substack. Kenn offers insights in to technical trends and consumer expectations of generative AI, happenings in the AI VC/investor space, challenges facing AI startups, and observations in current and future M&A activity. Plus, we learn about Sherl…