Synthflow AI and 8x8 enter strategic partnership to deliver next-generation agentic AI. April 21, 2026 BERLIN-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Synthflow AI, an enterprise AI agent platform that automates customer conversations, has formed a strategic partnership with 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), a leading global business communications platform provider, to bring Synthflow next-generation AI agents to enterprise contact centers. This collaboration integrates Synthflow into the 8x8 Contact Center, automating self-service while enhancing agent support across AI calls, chat, and digital channels. The new technology helps joint customers avoid missing calls, ultimately converting more leads, empowering customers to increase their CSAT scores, and reducing operational costs. Additionally, customers can set up Al answering assistants without developer support. The global voice AI market is expected to grow to $54 billion by 2033, and this partnership addresses the growing need for modern, enterprise-ready conversational AI. By replacing legacy point solutions, Synthflow enables joint customers to avoid long implementation cycles and complex setups. The platform delivers natural, human-like conversations with low latency, advanced interruption handling, memory capabilities, and support for over 30 languages. These features allow businesses to achieve faster resolution times and higher containment rates. Hakob Astabatsyan, CEO of Synthflow, said: "Our partnership with 8x8 validates the strength of our agentic AI capabilities and the sophisticated framework we use. Having handled over 65 million voice interactions, we've seen firsthand the significant impact that transformative AI has on businesses in driving efficiency, satisfaction, and lowering costs. "We give 8x8 and Synthflow customers an agile, innovation-focused alternative to legacy systems, making it easier than ever to transform customer interactions with intelligent automation at scale." The integration provides a distinct competitive advantage in the cloud contact center market. The long-term strategic alignment also includes future roadmap initiatives, such as enabling 8x8 and its channel partners to resell Synthflow directly, alongside offering the platform to small and medium businesses through the 8x8 App Store. Victor Belfor, Global Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at 8x8, Inc., said: "As consumers become increasingly comfortable engaging with AI agents, it's vital that our customers recognize this channel as a priority for seamless, effective customer engagement. By partnering with Synthflow, we're providing joint customers with the modern capabilities they need to help improve their satisfaction scores and quickly implement advanced voice automation." About Synthflow AI Synthflow AI is an enterprise AI agent platform that automates customer conversations across phone and chat. Built for production environments, it combines agent orchestration with its own telephony infrastructure to deliver reliable performance, fast deployment, and full control over the end-to-end conversation flow. A G2 Grid Leader for AI Agents, Synthflow has processed over 65 million customer calls for more than 100 enterprise customers, including Freshworks and Thryv. About 8x8, Inc. 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) connects people and organizations through seamless communication on one of the industry's most integrated platforms for Customer Experience - combining Contact Center, Unified Communications, and CPaaS solutions. The 8x8(R) Platform for CX integrates AI to enable personalized customer journeys, drive operational excellence and insights, and facilitate team collaboration. As a business communications leader, the company helps customer experience and IT leaders around the world become the heartbeat of their organizations, empowering them to unlock the potential of every interaction. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected capabilities and benefits of the Synthflow AI and 8x8 partnership, anticipated improvements in customer engagement and satisfaction through AI-powered voice automation, the expected growth of the global voice AI market, the advantages of integrating Synthflow into the 8x8 Contact Center, and future roadmap initiatives including channel partner resale programs and the 8x8 App Store. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially. For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to 8x8's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. 8x8 assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made. Synthflow AI Contacts: Media: [email protected] synthflow.ai 8x8, Inc. Contacts: Media: [email protected] Investor Relations: [email protected] Featured Research

Retell AI vs Synthflow vs Fluent: which AI voice agent wins in 2026. April 13, 2026 - Nilesh - 5 min AI voice agents have moved from "interesting experiment" to genuine business infrastructure. In 2026, companies across healthcare, logistics, retail, and financial services are relying on them for customer calls, lead qualification, appointment booking, and after-hours support. The technology works, but not every platform works equally well. Three names keep coming up in evaluation shortlists: Retell AI, Synthflow, andFluent. Each one solves the same core problem from a different angle. Choosing the wrong one costs real time and money. This is your AI voice platform comparison 2026 guide specifically written to help you make the right call the first time. Quick overview: what each platform actually is. Before comparing features, it helps to understand what each tool is actually built to do. Retell AI is a complete call infrastructure platform and not just a voice bot. It is built for businesses running calls at scale, with full support for custom LLM integrations, inbound and outbound campaigns, compliance frameworks and detailed post-call analytics. Over 3,000 businesses across regulated industries trust it. Synthflow came onto the scene as a fast, no-code builder for AI phone agents. It works well for startups and small teams who want to test voice automation quickly. Multilingual support gave it an early edge. But as teams grew and call volumes increased, limitations around features and enterprise readiness became hard to ignore. Fluent (thefluent.io) is built around one core idea: AI phone calls that sound and feel genuinely human. It describes itself as an AI phone assistant that enables seamless, natural communication, automating routine calls so human teams can focus on what actually needs their attention. It is focused on conversation quality above everything. Retell AI vs Synthflow: where the gap really shows. Most people searching for a Retell AI vs Synthflow comparison have already moved past the "just exploring" stage. They want a straight answer on which platform holds up under real business pressure. Here is the honest picture. Synthflow's no-code builder is easy to pick up, and for basic call flows, it does the job. The problem is what it does not do. Once your use cases grow beyond the basics, the gaps become very visible: * No warm call transfer: when a caller needs a human, the handoff experience is rough * No batch calling: outbound campaigns at scale simply are not possible * No post-call analysis: there is no structured data on what actually happened during each call * No simulation testing: agents go live without any proper quality check beforehand * No branded caller ID: calls are more likely to get flagged as spam, hurting answer rates * No verified phone numbers: It eventually compounds the spam problem further * Limited LLM customization: you are largely working within preset structures Retell AI covers every single one of those gaps. Here is what it brings natively: * Warm call transfers that work cleanly without disrupting the caller experience * Batch calling for large-scale outbound campaigns from a single dashboard * Post-call analysis that automatically pulls summaries, outcomes, and next steps from every conversation * Simulation testing so agents are properly validated before going live * Branded caller ID and verified numbers that boost answer rates on outbound calls * Full custom LLM support including integrations with OpenAI and Anthropic models * SIP trunking so the platform connects to your existing phone infrastructure The Retell AI vs Synthflow compliance gap is equally stark. Retell includes HIPAA, SOC 2 Type I and II, and GDPR compliance as standard, along with automatic PII redaction from call transcripts and role-based access controls for teams. Synthflow carries some certifications but does not match this depth, particularly on data protection and permission management. When evaluating Retell AI vs Synthflow for any industry like healthcare, finance, or insurance, where compliance is not optional the answer is clear. Retell is simply the more serious platform. What Fluent actually offers. Fluent is not competing with Retell AI or Synthflow on infrastructure depth. It is solving a different problem. Based strictly on what Fluent states on its own website, the platform is designed to: * Automate phone calls in a way that sounds genuinely human, not robotic * Handle routine tasks on behalf of businesses through natural, conversational AI * Free up human teams to focus on the work that truly requires a person * Deliver seamless communication where callers have natural conversations without friction That focus on human-like quality is Fluent's defining strength. For businesses where every caller interaction, like follow-up calls, appointment reminders, inbound inquiry handling, and customer support, shapes brand perception, a platform that prioritizes how the conversation feels is a legitimate differentiator. The platform is presented as accessible and quality-first, not as a deep technical infrastructure tool. For a business owner who wants natural-sounding AI calls running quickly, without needing a developer or a compliance team, Fluent is worth serious attention. For an enterprise with regulated data and complex call workflows, more investigation would be needed before committing. Feature comparison. | Multilingual Support | | Yes | | Yes | | Yes | | Human-Like Voice Quality | | Strong | | Good | | Core focus | | Best Suited For | Enterprise / high volume | Startups / small teams | SMBs / conversation quality | Retell AI alternatives: what the market actually looks like. Teams looking at Retell AI alternatives in 2026 tend to fall into two camps: those doing careful pre-purchase research and those who already tried it and want something more useful. Beyond Synthflow, other names that come up regularly include Fluent, Vapi, Bland AI, and ElevenLabs. Each has a specific strength: * Fluent is a newly grown but highly popular AI voice agent tool, offering human-like conversations * Vapi is a developer-first platform, popular with technical teams building custom stacks * Bland AI handles simpler automation workflows reasonably well * ElevenLabs is outstanding at voice quality but is not a full call automation platform What separates Retell from all of these Retell AI alternatives is not any single feature; it is the combination of various accessibilities. Enterprise compliance, unlimited concurrency, custom LLM flexibility, post-call analytics, and verified telephony features in one coherent platform. Very few competitors check all of those boxes. Even fewer have a documented 99.99% uptime to support their reliability claims. That said, not every business needs everything that a Retell provides. A small agency handling occasional follow-up calls has different requirements than a healthcare network managing thousands of daily appointment reminders. The right tool is the one that fits your current reality and has room to grow with you. So, which one should you Choose? There is no universal right answer, but there are clear patterns based on what each platform is genuinely good at. Choose Retell AI if: * You are running calls at significant volume and need a reliable infrastructure behind every one of them * Your industry has compliance requirements (like healthcare, finance, insurance, logistics) * You need developer-level control, custom LLM integrations, or advanced call routing * You have already outgrown a simpler tool and need something built for scale Choose Synthflow if: * You are a small team or agency testing AI voice automation for the first time * Your call flows are straightforward, and your volumes are still modest * You want fast setup without any technical complexity * You are not yet in a heavily regulated industry with strict data requirements Choose Fluent if: * Caller experience and natural conversation quality are your top priorities * You want a clean, accessible platform that does not require a technical team to manage * Your use case centres on inbound handling, follow-ups, or client-facing call automation * Ease of use matters more than deep customisation right now Final word. The AI voice platform comparison 2026 market has real depth, but the differences between platforms are substantial. Retell AI vs Synthflow is the most discussed pairing in this space for good reason. At the enterprise level, Retell is ahead in almost every meaningful category, including features, compliance, scalability and reliability. Fluent earns its place in the conversation for a different reason. Not every business needs the most powerful platform; some need the most human-feeling one. And for those businesses, Fluent's focused approach to natural conversation is genuinely compelling. Thebest AI voice agentis ultimately the one that fits how your business actually operates, handles growth without falling over, and makes every caller feel like they were taken care of.

Synthflow AI unveils BELL Framework to eliminate enterprise voice AI deployment risks. Synthflow AI, the enterprise platform known for powering conversational AI at scale, has introduced the BELL Framework, an OpenAI-driven lifecycle system designed to solve the biggest risks enterprises encounter when deploying voice AI in real-world environments. While the broader industry focuses on building larger models, Synthflow AI emphasizes that the core issue lies in the surrounding ecosystem areas like routing, testing, compliance, latency, and customer handoffs. Therefore, the company created BELL (Build, Evaluate, Launch, Learn) to unify the entire agent lifecycle into a single repeatable and measurable approach. This new framework integrates directly into Synthflow AI's platform, which already supports more than 65 million calls across over 1,000 enterprise deployments spanning healthcare, insurance, and large-scale contact-center operations. As organizations increasingly turn to AI to automate call volumes and reduce operational strain, Synthflow aims to provide a reliable and structured pathway to deploy high-performing voice agents. "Enterprises do not need more guesswork, they need guarantees," said Hakob Astabatsyan, Co-founder and CEO of Synthflow AI. "BELL ensures your voice agents behave as expected before customers ever hear them. It is the difference between hoping your AI works and knowing it will perform on every call." Breaking down the four pillars of BELL. To eliminate common failure points in voice AI, Synthflow engineered each stage of BELL with targeted capabilities: Build: Teams can design voice agent logic through a visual flow interface, manage variables, and coordinate multi-agent systems to ensure predictable and consistent results. Evaluate: A dedicated testing center simulates hundreds of complete phone calls. It measures accuracy, CSAT, and task completion to validate performance before agents go live. Launch: Instead of relying on external vendors, Synthflow operates on its own global telephony infrastructure. This enables sub-100 ms latency and a 99.9% uptime guarantee, ensuring real-time responsiveness. Learn: With detailed logs, analytics dashboards, and built-in Auto-QA, enterprises can evaluate every call, webhook, and event to refine performance continuously. This structured lifecycle addresses a major industry challenge. Large enterprise call centers handle millions of repetitive interactions from billing queries to account verifications that overwhelm human agents and increase customer wait times. Although voice AI appears to be the ideal solution, many deployments ultimately fail due to brittle integrations, routing errors, latency issues, and unpredictable agent decisions. "Most voice AI dies in production because teams cannot control the layers that define performance," said Sassun Mirzakhan-Saky, Co-Founder and CTO of Synthflow AI. "By owning the telephony, testing, and orchestration layers, we have removed that uncertainty. BELL makes success repeatable." Additionally, Synthflow leverages OpenAI's GPT-4.1, GPT-5, and GPT-5.1 model family across its system. The platform intelligently selects models with optimal reasoning capabilities to maintain real-time accuracy and high-quality responses. Eva Spannagl, Head of Startups, DACH, at OpenAI, highlighted this collaboration, adding: "Our frontier AI models and developer tools help customers like Synthflow create enterprise-grade, real-time systems. Synthflow is a great example of how to build on our models to create reliable, production-ready outcomes from day one." Ultimately, by building the BELL Framework into its no-code platform, Synthflow AI empowers enterprises to develop, test, and deploy robust voice agents within weeks not months while maintaining full compliance with SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR requirements.