“Press 1 is dead. If you haven’t integrated AI into your core telephony stack, you’re on the path to obsolescence.” — Andy Abramson, Founder & CEO, Comunicano

In this conversation with Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, Andy Abramson—32 years into leading Comunicano—explains why legacy, menu-tree IVRs are being displaced by SIP-native AI and real-time voice agents. The result: faster resolution, lower latency, and human-like interactions that finally match the urgency of today’s callers.

What’s changing

• SIP ↔ AI interconnect: Direct SIP trunking into AI (e.g., OpenAI) turns agents into callable endpoints—simplifying deployment much like early CPaaS did.
• Network path matters: Zero-hop/HD direct connectivity (e.g., CarrierX/Found/freeconferencecall.com) and Cloudflare’s global edge for WebRTC cut jitter, packet loss, and delay—feeding cleaner “robot food” to AI.
• Voice that sounds human: Advances in neural voices (e.g., ElevenLabs) raise comprehension and comfort, improving CX outcomes.
• Tool orchestration made simple: MCP/agent frameworks (e.g., Anthropic-style tool calling) connect CRM/ERP and data sources without brittle middleware.

Who wins, who loses

• Winners: UCaaS/CPaaS and AI-forward CCaaS that treat AI agents as first-class endpoints; telcos bundling AI with SIP routing and data plans; high-volume enterprises offloading Tier-1 to real-time AI.
• At risk: IVR-only vendors, low-end CCaaS, and speech-to-text middleware that don’t adopt AI—“adopt or die.”

Why it matters for MSPs & channel partners

• The migration path is here now: swap tree-based IVR for NLP-driven, real-time voice agents, integrate with existing stacks via SIP, and monetize AI minutes + memories.
• Business impact: shorter handle times, higher first-contact resolution, lower OpEx, and fewer abandoned calls—especially for customers calling with urgent needs.

This episode includes a slide presentation outlining the end of menu trees, the SIP-AI architecture, and four go-to-market “wins” for carriers, UC/CPaaS, CCaaS, and large enterprises.

Learn more about Andy’s work at comunicano.com (one “m”) and his commentary at AndyAbramson.com and on LinkedIn.