Human-assisted AI is the future of CX, says Exotel co-founder as demand surges

Exotel is betting big on a future where human-assisted AI drives every major customer interaction, with co-founder Sachin Bhatia saying demand for contextual, reliable and empathetic customer experiences has accelerated sharply across industries.

The AI-first customer experience company has just launched Harmony, its next-generation omnichannel platform that unifies voice, messaging, video and AI into a single intelligent operating system.

Bhatia said the need for such a shift has never been clearer. “It is funny that we talk to our friends less than the amount of talking we do with brands. But the brands don’t understand us at all,” he told CNBC-TV18. He pointed out that customers still have to repeat basic information every time they call a bank or a service provider. “Harmony tries to solve that gap by bringing one platform which does AI, bots and humans so that the experience is empathetic and intelligent.”

He believes the timing is right because AI has reached a stage where it can be deployed safely and at scale. Harmony’s pitch is built around a single “brain, workflow and reliability layer,” backed by Exotel’s experience in powering billions of conversations globally. The company says the platform can deliver up to 60% automation, 15–20% productivity gains and 99.9% uptime—benefits that translate into lower service costs for enterprises and faster resolutions for consumers.

“We understand what has happened with you, how you are feeling right now and what the intent is with which you are talking to us,” Bhatia said, noting that Harmony exposes this context to human agents or AI bots to improve decision-making. He added that reliability remains a key differentiator. “What it leads to is… very, very reliable infrastructure. So, no drop offs.”

Exotel currently handles over 25 billion interactions annually, including 4 billion AI-led conversations. With Harmony, the company expects double-digit revenue growth by FY27. According to Bhatia, AI-led conversations have “skyrocketed” in recent months, emerging as the strongest growth lever. The company already serves six of India’s top banks and a large majority of the country’s funded consumer tech companies, giving it a strong domestic base for expansion.

Global expansion will also play a significant role in the company’s growth ambitions. Exotel is strengthening its presence in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Southeast Asia by adding on-ground teams and expanding its physical footprint in these markets.

Bhatia said the strongest demand is coming from sectors with high-volume, high-sensitivity conversations where automation must be both trustworthy and empathetic. He highlighted growing adoption from automation companies building voice bots on Exotel’s infrastructure, as well as industries requiring seamless human-AI handoffs. “Wherever you want a hybrid of human and AI… those are the areas where we are seeing the highest demand,” he said.

With Harmony, Exotel aims to position itself among a handful of global players building human-assisted AI at scale—signalling that the future of customer experience will be led by intelligent systems that understand context, emotion and intent, without losing the human touch.

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