REALLY is perfecting a carrier-native AI agent that can place and receive calls on the subscriber\u2019s behalf\u00a0The idea is to free up customers\u2019 time so they can do the things they enjoy instead of wasting time on their phone\u00a0The T-Mobile MVNO says privacy comes first, with user data protected through a secure, end-to-end privacy architecture\u00a0<\/p>\n
The founder and CEO of REALLY, an MVNO that uses T-Mobile\u2019s network, wants to clone subscribers\u2019 voices so that they can use their phones less.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You heard that right. And if your first reaction is: really? That\u2019s kind of the whole point.\u00a0<\/p>\n
REALLY CEO Adam Lyons says it\u2019s all about getting people to put their phone down and go enjoy a hike in the woods or otherwise unplug. The AI-trained clone will take care of the tedious bits of your life, allowing you to do the things you love to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The key word here is \u201ctedious,\u201d like rescheduling a doctor\u2019s appointment, canceling a subscription or talking with customer service. You probably wouldn\u2019t want your clone to take calls from your close friends and family, at least not at this stage. Think of it more like a personal assistant or concierge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mission here is really important to us. We don’t think AI needs to be threatening. We think it can be seen as a good thing. Folks using their phone and being glued to the phone often forget that family and friends and nature are the important things in life. And that’s what we want to bring back. We want to bring real connection back,\u201d Lyons told Fierce.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last month, Austin, Texas-based REALLY announced the REALLY Clone, a carrier-native AI agent trained on a subscriber\u2019s preferences, voice and communication style. It\u2019s still in beta, but the idea is to use the subscriber\u2019s real phone number, requiring very little setup on the customer\u2019s end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the beginning of Clone. It can do all these basic tasks very well. Eventually, we\u2019d like to evolve it to handle more of the things that people don\u2019t have the energy, the time or don\u2019t want to do,\u201d he said. \u201cThe goal is to have it get more sophisticated over time. Train it to learn more and more of your preferences, how you talk differently to your boss versus your family versus your friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the all-to-frequent spam calls, REALLY says its Clone will not just block them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt picks up, plays confused, asks questions, and keeps the scammer talking as long as possible,\u201d the\u00a0company advises on its website<\/a>. \u201cYou get a full recap and a running scoreboard of how much scammer time your Clone has wasted.\u201d<\/p>\n Really focused on privacy\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Lyons, they deliberately built the privacy layer before the AI layer because \u201cyou can\u2019t ask people to trust AI with their phone number if you haven\u2019t already proven you\u2019ll protect their data.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n