PolyAI
VerifiedEnterprise voice AI agents that answer customer calls, plus a pay-per-minute voice model API
Product preview
PolyAI
What it is
PolyAI is a voice-first conversational AI company. Its agents answer inbound customer calls for large organizations and handle tasks such as authentication, bookings and reservations, billing, order management and call routing without passing callers to a person. Teams design and run agents with Wren and Dialog Studio, which range from no-code to full code, and connect them to existing business systems. PolyAI also sells its own models: Dialog-RSN-1 for real-time voice, which works from raw call audio, and a text model for webchat, SMS and messaging. Developers can use an API, ADK, MCP and CLI. The API costs 2 cents per connected minute plus token charges, and new accounts get free credit, while enterprise platform pricing is quoted.
Key features
- Voice agents that resolve calls without escalation
- Wren and Dialog Studio for no-code to full-code builds
- Dialog-RSN-1 real-time voice model API
- Text model for webchat, SMS and messaging
What we liked
- + Focused on voice, the hardest support channel to automate
- + Self-serve API with per-second billing
- + Long list of industry use cases from hotels to utilities
Worth noting
- · Platform per-minute rates are not published
- · Telephony is not included in API pricing
Editor's notes
More context from AI BirdView
PolyAI is an enterprise voice AI company that builds agents to answer customer phone calls and resolve them without a human, for industries such as hospitality, restaurants, financial services, insurance and utilities. Founded in 2017 in London, it has focused on voice from the start, when most chatbot vendors were working on text. Today it offers both a managed agent platform for large contact centers and a self-serve voice model API for developers.
What is PolyAI used for?
Companies use PolyAI to take pressure off their phone lines by letting an agent handle common calls from greeting to resolution. It is also used by developers who want a real-time voice model for their own products.
- Answering inbound customer service calls and routing only complex cases to staff
- Handling bookings and reservations for hotels and restaurants
- Authenticating callers and managing accounts, billing and payments
- Tracking and updating orders and troubleshooting common issues
- Designing, testing and optimizing agents in Wren and Dialog Studio
- Building custom voice applications on the Dialog-RSN-1 API with the ADK, MCP or CLI
Who PolyAI is best for
PolyAI is best for large organizations with heavy call volume, such as hotel groups, restaurant chains, banks, insurers, telecoms and utilities that want to cut hold times. Its self-serve API also suits developers and startups who need a low-latency voice model and will bring their own telephony. Small businesses that just want a receptionist for a single location may prefer a simpler packaged product.
PolyAI pricing
As of October 2026, the Dialog-RSN-1 API costs 2 cents per connected minute, billed per second, plus text token charges of $2.00 per million input tokens and $5.00 per million output tokens. Ten concurrent calls are included, and telephony is not. New sign-ups were offered $100 in free credit for a limited time. The managed platform is priced per minute with maintenance and 24/7 support included, but that rate is not published, so enterprise buyers need a quote.
Limitations to keep in mind
- Enterprise platform pricing requires a sales conversation
- API users must supply their own telephony and orchestration
- Promotional free credit terms change, so check the current offer
- Large deployments still need integration work with booking, billing or CRM systems
PolyAI vs alternatives
DialNexa and echowin are simpler options for small and mid-sized businesses that want voice agents for inbound and outbound calls without an enterprise project. GirikVoice is worth comparing for multilingual call handling with real-time language detection. ElevenLabs is the better choice if you mainly need high-quality synthetic voices and want to build the agent logic yourself. PolyAI wins for large brands that need an agent to resolve real customer calls at scale, or developers who want a dedicated real-time voice model.
Tips for getting started with PolyAI
If you are a developer, use the free credit to test Dialog-RSN-1 on your own call scripts and measure latency over your carrier before committing. Enterprise buyers should bring call recordings and a breakdown of call reasons to the first meeting. Start with one or two call types, such as reservations or order status, and set clear rules for when to transfer to staff.
PolyAI FAQ
- Is PolyAI free?
- No, but new PolyAI API accounts receive free credit to try it. After that the Dialog-RSN-1 API costs 2 cents per connected minute plus tokens.
- Does PolyAI have an API?
- Yes. PolyAI offers the Dialog-RSN-1 voice model API, along with a Platform API, ADK, MCP and CLI for developers.
- What is PolyAI used for?
- PolyAI is used to automate customer phone calls, such as reservations, account questions, billing and order management, with voice AI agents.
- What is the best alternative to PolyAI?
- DialNexa and echowin are simpler voice agent options for smaller businesses, while ElevenLabs suits teams that want voices to build on.
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