Reliance Jio has unveiled a new AI feature that embeds an artificial intelligence (AI) agent directly into the phone call itself. There is no need for an app download, no separate number is required, and will be available across 22 Indian language, the company has announced.
Why Jio is betting on voice, not apps
The pitch behind the feature, called the Jio Call Agent, is built on a simple observation - while AI globally has largely lived inside standalone apps, the humble phone call has remained untouched by the AI wave. Despite being one of the most universal ways people communicate, AI hasnt penetrated phone calls yet. Jio says it carries 20 billion minutes of voice traffic every single day, making it one of the largest voice carriers in the world. That scale, the company argues, is exactly why AI belongs inside the call itself rather than in a separate app sitting outside it.
How it works?
Activating the agent is designed to be as simple as a voice command. Users just say 'Hey Jio' during a call, and the AI agent joins, staying on for as long as needed, and only with the user's consent. Crucially, this requires no app installation and no additional number to save. It's built natively into the Jio network and available to every Jio customer.
What the AI agent can actually do?
The Call Agent comes with a set of capabilities aimed squarely at making everyday calls more useful:
- Transcription: On a conference call, the agent can identify up to 10 unique speakers and transcribe every word spoken, in each speaker's own language.
- Summarisation: Once the call ends, it can share summaries, action items, and reminders with all participants, cutting down on the usual post-call scramble to remember who agreed to do what.
- Action-taking: Perhaps the most ambitious piece, the agent can take real-world actions during the call itself, such as ordering food, booking a cab, reserving a table, or setting up a meeting that was just discussed, without needing to switch apps or hang up.
Jio is positioning this as a built-in concierge available on every call, rather than a feature you have to remember to open separately.
Rollout timeline
The Jio Call Agent is set to launch later this year, and will be rolled out to Jio's user base of more than 500 million customers, a scale that would make it one of the largest simultaneous AI voice deployments anywhere in the world if it ships as described.
