Google's Duplex AI could kill the call center

The robots on the other side of the customer support line could soon start to sound a lot more human. Google is reportedly shopping its Duplex AI system around as a tool for call centers, according to The Information, including a large insurance company. Duplex would handle simple calls for the insurance company, and if the customer started asking complex questions the bot can't handle a human would step in, according to the report. However, it's unlikely that AI research will cease after mastering simple conversations, meaning call centers could one day be largely automated using this technology. The AI system was first debuted at Google's I/O developer conference in May, where it was demonstrated making calls to local businesses to place reservations on behalf of Google Assistant users.