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Why Enterprise Security is Important for Voice AI Technology
November 6, 2024
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The implementation of voice AI is resulting in change within enterprise operations — 64% of companies examine AI for improved customer experiences. However, after embedding voice technology into daily business operations, a few significant security and data protection challenges arise.

Now, safeguarding private customer interactions and complying with stricter requirements have become paramount matters. This article discusses some of the major threats, rationing how compliance is affected when using AI voice agents within businesses, and explores AI data protection topics as well.

Voice AI in Enterprise Environments

From improving customer experience to making processes more efficient and optimizing operations, Voice AI is changing the way businesses operate. Voice technology is taking advantage of finance, healthcare, and customer service to ease operations and engage customers in new ways.

  • Finance: Financial institutions utilize Voice AI to automate standard customer queries and banking transactions, as it is quick and efficient in resolving day-to-day requests.
  • Healthcare: Voice AI takes charge of appointment bookings and even preliminary consultations so medical practitioners can focus on critical care.
  • Customer Service: Voice AI is used in high-volume inquiries to ease operation processes, which allows a human agent to attend to more complex cases.

Benefits of Voice AI Agents in an Enterprise

Voice AI offers multiple advantages that make it a valuable asset for enterprises. Here are some of the benefits:

Enhanced Customer Service Efficiency

Voice AI removes the manual element of customer interactions, responding to queries in real time and handling unlimited requests simultaneously without downtime. It helps companies cut down spoilers and maintain continuity in service during peak hours.

Scalability

Voice AI solutions boast unbeatable scalability, providing the ability to meet customer demand when it peaks, whether seasonal or due to unexpected spikes in inquiries. Voice AI does not need humans to staff it in order to provide high-quality service, which makes more economical and scalable sense for growing businesses.

Cost Savings

Voice AI automates common tasks and tackles repetitive questions, freeing human agents to deal with more complex, higher-value interactions. This change minimizes staffing expenses and maximizes resource utilization, minimizing the input/output ratio for enterprises.

Natural, Conversational Interactions

Advanced voice AI is able to imitate human conversations, and it opens a doorway for providing a better user experience — one that resembles the exchanges that take place between humans. A more humanized approach builds a stronger relationship with customers and reduces the robotic tone in conversations, which is important for customer-facing roles.

Improved Customer Satisfaction

The rapid response time, conversational tone, and dependable service offered by Voice AI factor into a good customer experience that helps keep the customers satisfied and happy with you as their provider. By serving customer demand for rapid and high-quality engagement, enterprises can meet their service goals faster.

Data-Driven Insights

Voice AI solutions also come with analytics that measure customer preferences, trends, and pain points. Enterprises can learn from this data, improve service processes, and better prepare for future interactions with customers.

Key Security Risks in Voice AI Technology

While Voice AI is becoming a regular feature of enterprise operations, it also presents some security issues that need addressing. Voice AI systems often handle sensitive data, and if this data is breached, it can cause financial losses and regulatory penalties for organizations. It can also harm customer trust. Issues can include data breaches, unauthorized access, and complex privacy concerns.

Data Breaches and Potential Implications

Since voice AI systems frequently transcribe and stow private data, including identifying information, monetary activity, or medical information, they are very alluring beefsteaks for hackers. If voice data is breached, the consequences can be terrible:

  • Financial Losses: Companies suffer direct financial losses from fraud plus indirect costs such as operational downtime, legal fees, and customer churn.
  • Regulatory Fines: Non-compliance with privacy laws such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS can cause millions of dollars in fines for enterprises, especially in the healthcare and finance sectors.
  • Bad Company Reputation: Customer-facing businesses that rely heavily on trust experience a loss of brand goodwill in case of data breaches ultimately resulting in customer churn and declining competitiveness. As people become more aware of data privacy, organizations that do not take the time to protect sensitive information could cause permanent damage to their reputations.

Unauthorized Access and Hacking Threats

Lack of strong access controls and encryption can expose voice AI systems to unauthorized access, enabling hackers to exploit voice data or disrupt operational functionalities:

  • Data Exposure: If cybercriminals access sensitive voice data, they can leak this information to the public or sell it to malicious third parties, endangering customer privacy and security.
  • System Manipulation: Hackers may change the way voice AI behaves, the manner in which it responds, or how it performs. For example, in financial services, this could translate into miscommunication and incorrect transactions, leading to chaos and distrust.
  • Operational Disruptions: Downtime or service disruptions for AI-powered services due to unauthorized access. In customer service and other sectors, these disruptions can postpone mission-critical services, harm production efficiency, and create a lack of satisfaction.

Regulatory Compliance and the National Do Not Call List

With more and more enterprises leveraging Voice AI technology, there is no room for non-compliance with data privacy regulations here. Legislation like the GDPR, CCPA, and TCPA come in to protect data with some of the highest standards for privacy and security standards ever created.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

The General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR for short, also requires not just explicit but informed consent from any user whose personal data is to be collected, stored, or processed by a company at all; this regulation came into effect in the whole part of the world under the European Union. It provides extensive protection of the data for users with rights to access, amend, erase, or restrict processing.

The regulation specifically requires minimizing the amount of data collected (gathering only what is necessary), ensuring transparency when collecting personal information, and putting stringent security measures in place to protect the data. Non-compliance fines may go up to €20 million or 4% of a company’s total global annual revenue from the year prior, whichever is higher.

CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)

With this law, California residents can know what possible personal data businesses capture on them: for what purpose the data was captured and how much effective contact with their personal data [4]. CCPA gives users the right to request to stop selling out and delete their data — which puts control into the hands of virtually any Californian.

Though CCPA only applies to businesses in California, a lot of companies choose to deploy the standards more broadly in order to remain compliant. Each violation of the CCPA is subject to a fine of $2,500–$7,500.

TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act)

The TCPA is a law that governs how companies can conduct telemarketing and requires these companies to receive express consent before they make an auto-dialed call or send a text message. This regulation, amongst other things, prohibits telemarketers from calling any numbers on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) and also sets out limits as to what time calls can be made.

National Do Not Call List (DNCL)

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated a national Do Not Call List (DNCL), a database in which consumers can register to have their phone numbers removed from marketing-oriented calling lists.

Do not call list (DNCL) compliance is an absolute necessity to ensure avoidance of fines and continued customer trust in your brand if you deploy automated outbound communications via Voice AI solutions or SMS messaging. The DNCL affects the Voice AI apps in different aspects as enumerated below:

  • Compliance with Consent Regulations: If Voice AI systems make outbound calls, then they should be able to ensure that consent can be checked against the DNCL. Unsolicited solicitation calls to DNCL numbers can incur penalties and turn away customers.
  • Enhanced Customer Trust: Proof of obvious alignment with DNCL requirements through Voice AI communications allows companies to sustain customer respect for privacy and uphold brand loyalty.
  • Avoiding Fines: Failure to follow the DNCL can lead to fines between $500 and $1,500 per violation. Continued or intentional violations could subject violators to more serious legal consequences.

Companies that outbound will mitigate legal and reputational risk by harmonizing their practices with the frameworks set out in DNCL, as well as regulations like CCPA. This means keeping outside solicitation respectful and moving toward best practices around privacy.

Why Outbound Calls Are Labeled as Spam or ‘Spam Likely’

Outbound calls can be flagged as spam for different reasons, but this is most often due to calling patterns, customer engagement rates, and customer responses. A few key factors include:

  • High Call Frequency: If the number of outbound calls is high in a short time period, it will begin flagging numbers, and spam labels can be hit. The carriers detect what they think are unusually large amounts of calls, and these simply get flagship spam even when all the callers are legitimate.
  • Low Engagement Rates: This low engagement could be seen as spam behavior by the carriers. The higher chances of spam labels showing low engagement are also due to the caller not being recognized or trusted by recipients.
  • Customer Complaints: When customers file complaints or block any number, then the carriers are more likely to label that number as spam. Normally, unsolicited phone calls, messaging without consent, and irrelevant messaging will produce a negative customer experience that results in complaints.

These factors collectively contribute to carriers labeling outbound calls as ‘Spam Likely,’ affecting how recipients perceive incoming calls from these numbers.

Impact of Spam Labeling on Enterprise Communication

Labeling of outbound calls as spam can lead to detrimental effects on enterprises in many ways:

  • Brand Reputation Damage: If the calls are seen as spam, the customers may perceive a company to be an intruding or untrustworthy one. The brand may face substantial difficulty proving that it is not a spammer because the effectiveness of subsequent messages suffers after these labels have been applied repeatedly.
  • Reduced Customer Engagement: Enterprises find it difficult to connect with their audience as customers do not engage businesses if they ignore calls, spam or block ones. Customer outreach — whether to acquire, support, or retain customers, is likely to become less effective in the absence of meaningful engagement.
  • Operational Setbacks: Spam tagging interferes with the workflows of sales and customer service teams, requiring them to pursue other channels to reach customers. This creates an impact that results in lost opportunities, loss of efficiency, and a higher cost of customer acquisition from the extra outreach done.

Importance of Enterprise Security in Voice AI

With effective security in place, organizations can avert expensive breaches and ensure continuity of operations — ensuring voice AI is responsibly and confidently harnessed. Below are some of the reasons that make enterprise security a key aspect of AI voice technology:

Protecting Customer and Business Data

Since Voice AI systems regularly deal with sensitive and personal customer data—from personal information to transaction history and even private conversations—data protection is of utmost importance in preserving customer confidence and safeguarding one of the most valuable assets for a business.

If this information is breached, customers can face financial and personal loss, while companies will be left vulnerable to loss of profit or lawsuits. When customers see that their data privacy is safeguarded, they will feel assured that the company handles consumer information responsibly, which builds customer loyalty and leads to long-term business.

Safeguarding Brand Reputation

The impact of a data breach or security lapse on the reputation of a brand can be devastating as it directly affects its credibility and trustworthiness with customers. As data privacy becomes increasingly important to consumers, companies that can demonstrate high levels of security and responsible data management practices have a source of competitive advantage.

Preventative security approaches signal to customers that the company respects their privacy — and this, in turn, builds greater loyalty and positive brand perception. In contrast, a breach may cause reputational harm that lasts for many years and erodes consumer trust in the company.

Maintaining Operational Continuity and Preventing Downtime

Security breaches disrupt business operations, leading to extended downtimes that interrupt customer service, stall business processes, and cause revenue loss. For instance, with Voice AI technology in customer support, a security compromise could mean shutting down automated support temporarily, resulting in delays and customer dissatisfaction.

Our platform stands out with a 99.99% uptime, compared to the 99.94% of competitors, demonstrating our commitment to reliability. Strong and consistent security practices ensure seamless operations, protecting the business bottom line and maintaining customer relationships. By implementing proactive security, we not only reduce the risk of breaches but also guarantee uninterrupted, reliable access to essential voice AI services.

Verified Phone Numbers as a Solution (Spam Remediation)

Verified phone numbers are a fundamental measure of enhancing call deliverability and securing customer confidence in enterprise communications. It helps confirm that outbound calls are properly recognized by carriers and customers as legitimate when they utilize verified numbers. Thus, this verification minimizes the probability of calls getting flagged as spam and increases the possibility of customers picking up, which in turn makes communication efforts more impactful.

However, unlike dedicated spam remediation services that recover and proactively verify numbers to reduce the chances of them being labeled as spam, verified numbers bring this same functionality in-house. Third-party tools are focused on the detection, management, or recovery of spam labels, but verified numbers do all that and remove the risk at the source.

This goes hand in hand with solutions, which also seek to maximize the rate of successful calls by reducing spam labels. Thus, verified numbers are a powerful additional tool to help businesses keep a good call reputation and contact customers without any hassle.

Verified numbers have a number of benefits for enterprise communications:

  • Improved Customer Engagement: Verified numbers are more inclined to have their calls answered, therefore increasing engagement and the effectiveness of outreach campaigns.
  • Reduced Call Blocking: By using validated numbers, enterprises are less at risk of their calls being blocked or marked with the ‘Spam Likely’ tag, hence ensuring maximum call completion rates.
  • Enhanced Trust in Business Communications: A known background in numbers showcases professionalism and transparency, which further enhances trust and a good reputation among customers.

Retell AI’s Approach to Secure Voice AI Solutions

Retell AI prioritizes security at every stage, meeting high standards for data protection. With advanced features like encryption, access controls, and compliance with major regulations (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II), Retell AI enables businesses to confidently use Voice AI.

  • Security-First Platform Design: Retell AI embeds strong security measures to protect data throughout the platform.
  • Advanced Security Features: Includes encryption and access controls to keep voice data secure.
  • Differentiation in Security and Compliance: Retell AI meets or exceeds regulations, allowing businesses to trust their data is safe.

Secure Your Voice AI Future with Retell AI Today

Strong security measures are essential for Voice AI in enterprise settings. From protecting sensitive data to meeting regulatory standards, each step strengthens the foundation for safe Voice AI use.

Prioritizing security and compliance not only protects data but also builds customer trust. Ready to secure your enterprise with Voice AI? Discover how Retell AI’s advanced security features protect your data and customer interactions—explore our platform today to see how our security-first approach can support your business.

Bing
Co-founder & CEO
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