Audio First: AI Leaves the Screen Behind

AI is starting to listen before it reads. That shift from text to voice makes interactions faster, more fluid and far closer to how people actually communicate. In this article, we explore how audio-first AI can reduce friction in webshops, eliminate waiting time in customer service and move B2B orders seamlessly from conversation to system.

Since AI’s early days, the user experience has been confined to the chat window. We type, it responds, and neither of us truly escapes the grey speech bubbles and blinking dots. It has been a purely text-driven interaction model.

Now, the sound barrier is starting to crack.

OpenAI is going all-in on audio-based AI ahead of its upcoming audio-first device launching at the end of 2026 - and it’s about far more than improving ChatGPT’s voice mode. It marks a fundamental shift: voice becomes the central interface, and the text layer fades away in favour of models built for real-time conversation.

These new audio models respond instantly, pick up tone of voice, handle interruptions, and find their way back into the thread without stumbling. That’s a major departure from the AI you know today, where everything runs through text - even if you speak to ChatGPT or Gemini, your words are transcribed to text first, then processed, then read back to you.

That middle layer is disappearing.

This is why the models are described as audio-first: they operate primarily through sound - both input and output. And that opens a completely new chapter for digital commerce, where voice isn’t just an add-on but the front door to shopping, service and order handling.

Voice Commerce: Talk Your Way to the Checkout

For years, ecommerce has been one long quest to remove friction. One less click, one shorter flow, one smoother handover. Yet even the most optimised webshop still requires the customer to steer with mouse and keyboard.

Audio-first AI moves us toward a form of commerce that feels more like walking into a physical store - only the “store associate” knows the full stock list, your purchase history, your preferences and every price change. And it’s open 24/7 without needing a human on standby.

When voice replaces the interface, much of the digital friction dissolves.

A customer can ask whether a size is in stock, compare alternatives, reorder a recurring item, or get an explanation of the difference between two models - all at the pace their thoughts emerge. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who already communicate heavily through voice messages, this could quickly become the most natural way to shop. They’re used to technology responding when they speak.

In fact, many prefer it because it’s faster than typing.
71% of Gen Z use voice messages regularly, and for 37% of 18–34-year-olds, it’s the preferred form of communication. They’re used to talking to their phones - without expecting a human on the other end.

But it won’t stop with the young audience. When an experience becomes easier and faster, the rest of the market follows. At Vertica, we expect major Danish retail and ecommerce players to adopt voice commerce far sooner than most anticipate. The technology is nearly mature - and the business value is right there: less friction, higher conversion rates and a more personal shopping experience.

Customer Service: “You Are Number 0 in the Queue”

Customer service has long been a place where patience comes before solutions. You wait in line, navigate phone menus and hope you press the right sequence of numbers.

Audio-first AI changes that dynamic dramatically.

First, the waiting time disappears.
No more 52-minute queues just to adjust your mobile subscription. No more muzak burned into your brain.

Second, a large share of routine inquiries can be handled in seconds, freeing human agents to focus on conversations that truly require emotional judgment. Insurance company Tryg expects 85% of car damage reports to be handled by AI in the future, and telecom provider Nuuday anticipates 70% of customer inquiries can soon be solved by AI. Not solely through voice technology, but audio-based dialogue plays a major role here.

A voice-native model understands questions even when they’re half-rushed and half-frustrated. It picks up emotional cues in tone of voice and interprets linguistic nuance far better than text-based models.

The result: the service experience begins to feel like a real conversation - not “just another ticket in the queue”. And that is exactly where most customers want to meet a company.

B2B: Orders Flow Directly From Conversation to System

In many B2B industries, a conversation is still the fastest and most trusted path to placing an order. Customers often pick up the phone because it’s the easiest way to confirm variants, quantities and delivery times. But that model demands time, coordination and staff capacity - all under pressure in a world of rising complexity and shifting expectations.

Audio AI is a natural next step.

A customer simply describes their order. The AI understands it, asks clarifying questions when needed, and creates it directly in the company’s system - even outside regular working hours. And when tied into backend processes, the entire value chain can progress automatically through inventory, logistics and invoicing.

Companies gain the ability to handle large order volumes without expanding staff - while actually reducing errors thanks to a more consistent process.

Some orders will always require human review, and it’s wise to set guardrails so the AI escalates larger or complex orders. But for the majority of daily transactions, the smoothest path is voice-to-system in one continuous flow. Scalable. Fast. And for customers, it feels like a service that matches their tempo.

Vertica’s Perspective: Your Voice Is the Next Interface

At Vertica, we’re seeing growing interest in audio AI — and for good reason. Voice brings technology closer to the way humans naturally communicate. Our thoughts run faster than our typing. And we resolve things more efficiently in dialogue than through forms and menus.

As systems begin to understand and respond in real time, many of the subtle barriers we’ve grown used to in digital customer journeys start to dissolve.

This is why we’re actively working with audio across areas where dialogue already plays a major role. In customer service, voice creates a more direct connection between company and customer. In B2B, orders can move from conversation straight into the system without the manual steps that normally create bottlenecks. And in ecommerce, we’re seeing the early outlines of voice commerce - customers navigating with words instead of wading through menus.

Together with Go Autonomous, we’re building solutions where conversations don’t just get understood - they get executed across the entire value chain, from validation to warehouse and logistics. It makes organisations more scalable and gives customers an experience that aligns closely with how they naturally communicate.

Looking back, it’s no surprise that AI began with text and images. But it’s equally logical that OpenAI is now pushing hard into audio. There’s enormous untapped potential in this space - and the companies that start experimenting with the new audio layer today will stand strong when voice becomes as natural an interface as the touchscreen is today.