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Krisp, a noise cancellation app, announced that it will launch an AI tool to convert a speaker’s accent to American English, starting with Indian accents. The company says the AI Accent Conversion will change a person’s accent with a 200ms latency, which Krisps calls “an imperceptible delay in conversations,” whilst maintaining the speaker’s voice, according to The Verge.
The tool has already been trialed in enterprise environments, and a beta version will be available on the Krisp desktop app. Users can use the tool at any time during or before calls.
Indian accents not being understood
Krisp’s co-founder, Arto Minasyan, says the idea was inspired by his experiences when engaging in conversations. “Many people don’t understand my accent even though I am speaking English well. We thought changing accents might help people understand each other much better. We started working on this problem two years ago and now we are releasing it in beta,” he said.
The tool currently supports over 17 Indian dialects, but the company intends to add other English accents, such as Filipino. “This isn’t about bias — it’s simply a reality of communication. In fast-paced meetings, even small misunderstandings can slow down decisions, cause repetition, and reduce overall efficiency,” Minasyan adds.
AI changing accents and dialects
Krisp isn’t the only company using AI to change accents or dialects. Bloomberg reported that Teleperformance SE has started releasing an AI-powered tool that “softens” Indian workers’ accents.
Last October, OpenAI launched an advanced voice mode for ChatGPT, enabling users to hold natural, real-time conversations in a wide range of languages and dialects.
The enhanced voice mode allows ChatGPT to speak with improved accent recognition and caters to users who want to interact using local dialects like Ebonics, Jamaican Patois, and Nigerian Pidgin.
Image: Vishal Bhutani