## Summary so far
- Meeting started with greetings and brief office-related small talk.
- Voice 2 outlined the agenda: introductions, demo of special tooling, discussion on what makes Rhyme special, focus on VoiceAI at Assurant including concerns and improvements, followed by open conversation and next steps.
- Me emphasized that reliability and risk are top priorities.
- Round of introductions: Dana (CX, CSAT, Containment), Marcus (ITN Systems, integration, security, uptime), Preah (procurement, cost, risk, commercial terms).
- Voice 2 shared background: new at Rhyme, 3 years in Voice AI, previous roles at Deepgram and Gradium.
- Voice 2 introduced a copilot tool that organizes spoken input into a live, shareable, editable summary, encrypted and device-local, to aid note-taking.
- Voice 2 described Rhyme's founding in 2022 by Lilly and Brooke Canaries, with a team of linguists and an engineer.
- Rhyme uses a unique approach to building voice models and TTS by recording thousands of hours of natural, high-quality, specifically made content in their own studio.
- Their natural nuance TTS powers tens of millions of phone calls monthly across industries like restaurant, healthcare, telecom, and enterprise.
- A recent academic survey of 100,000 calls showed Rhyme's voices had the lowest hang-up rate and fastest call completion compared to two major competitors.
- Me noted current voices feel robotic, which is problematic for stressed customers.
- Me emphasized that even small changes can introduce risk, including latency spikes and integration issues, leading to downtime that impacts handle time, escalations, costs, and SLA exposure.
- Voice 2 asked for clarification on downtime business impact.
- Me explained downtime during peak times increases handle time, escalations, costs, and risks SLA breaches.
- Me described current voice service as serviceable but not delightful.
- Me highlighted the need for voices that sound reassuring, reduce repeats, keep customers calm, and provide predictable reliability with clear ROI.
- Me explained that any system changes must be low lift, security cleared, and ideally not rip-and-replace; Assurant moves carefully.
- Success criteria for improvements would include containment, CSAT deltas, transfer rates, and real-time metrics, but internal alignment is needed before commitments.
- Small changes can cascade at scale, causing latency and integration issues with downstream effects.
- Voice 2 summarized key issues: SLA adherence, latency spikes causing breaches and increased costs, agent errors increasing customer friction and reducing satisfaction.
- Marcus emphasized stability, security review, and low lift as critical lenses.
- Me reiterated desire for a calmer voice that reduces repeat calls and increases containment without increasing handle time.
- Voice 2 presented a simulated call demo showcasing Rhyme’s voices handling a phone warranty claim scenario.
- Demo included naturalistic dialogue with a calmer, smoother voice that felt less robotic.
- Me noted the voice felt smoother but wants to test it in real flow and at scale.
- Participants acknowledged the importance of specificity in vendor pitches and the need for internal alignment on success metrics before commitments.
- Voice 2 explained voice selection process involves statistical comparison and customer choice for geography and tone.
- Voice 2 acknowledged being a sales representative, not an engineer, and set up the demo quickly.
- Me emphasized need for the right stakeholders in future discussions.
- Meeting ended with agreement to send a short recap and continue discussions.

## Key points
- Agenda includes understanding roles, demo of tooling, discussion on VoiceAI concerns and improvements, and open Q&A.
- Reliability and risk are critical concerns for the team.
- Voice 2’s copilot tool organizes meeting notes live, encrypted, and device-local to improve meeting efficiency.
- Rhyme formed in 2022 by linguists and an engineer with a novel approach to TTS.
- Rhyme records original, high-quality voice data rather than relying on podcasts or actor-generated speech.
- Rhyme’s TTS technology powers tens of millions of calls monthly in multiple sectors.
- Independent survey shows Rhyme’s voices have lower hang-up rates and faster call completions than major competitors.
- Current voice solutions at Assurant are functional but feel robotic and lack delight.
- Downtime and latency spikes have direct negative business impacts: increased handle time, escalations, costs, and SLA risks.
- Clear business case needed for any VoiceAI changes due to risk sensitivity.
- Desired voice qualities: reassuring tone, reduced repeats, calming effect on customers.
- Any system changes must be low lift, security cleared, and avoid rip-and-replace.
- Success metrics include containment, CSAT, transfer rates, and real-time monitoring, pending internal alignment.
- Small changes can cascade into significant latency and integration problems at scale.
- SLA breaches lead to financial penalties and client dissatisfaction.
- Stability, security review, and minimal operational impact are key evaluation criteria.
- A calmer voice that reduces repeat calls and increases containment without increasing handle time is highly desired.
- Demo showed a smoother, less robotic voice in a device protection claim scenario.
- Testing in real operational flow and at scale is necessary before adoption.
- Specificity in vendor proposals is important to Assurant stakeholders.
- Voice selection involves statistical evaluation and customer preferences by geography and tone.
- Sales team member conducted demo; engineering input needed for deeper technical discussions.
- Future discussions require involvement of appropriate Assurant stakeholders.

## Decisions
- Agenda and meeting flow agreed upon.

## Action items
- Voice 2 to present demo of special tooling (copilot).
- Participants to discuss VoiceAI concerns and potential improvements.
- Voice 2 to follow up with further testing of voice solutions in real flow and at scale.
- Assurant team to internally align on success metrics (containment, CSAT, transfer rates) before commitments.
- Voice 2 to send a short recap of the meeting to Assurant team.
- Assurant to involve appropriate stakeholders in future discussions.

## Open questions
- How will the new voice solutions perform at scale in Assurant’s real operational environment?
- What additional concerns or requirements might arise from security and integration teams during further evaluation?
- What is the timeline and process for internal alignment on success criteria and potential pilot programs?
- What questions or feedback does the Assurant team have after reviewing the recap?