Featured in Times of India: How AI + Human Expertise is Revolutionizing Telecalling
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When STAGE, a regional OTT platform known for its rich library of Bhojpuri, Haryanvi, and Rajasthani content, started scaling rapidly, the celebration was quickly overshadowed by a flood of customer support calls.
Thousands of calls came in daily, and 90% were about payment deductions and refunds. Human agents were maxed out, response times lagged, and ratings began to slip. A simple refund request could take several minutes, leaving customers frustrated.
"Our bandwidth was limited, and it showed in delayed responses, missed calls, and poor reviews. We needed a better way"
STAGE knew adding more human agents wasn’t a sustainable fix. They wanted a CX-first approach: faster resolutions, consistent handling, and personalization at scale without ballooning costs. That’s when they turned to SquadStack AI.
This wasn’t just about answering calls faster. It was about creating a support experience that felt human in tone, empathy, and cultural understanding, while leveraging AI’s efficiency.
AI could answer instantly, keep energy high, and maintain consistency, no matter how many calls landed at once.
"Personalization with AI was easy because the bot already knew the user’s journey with STAGE. Every conversation felt relevant"
The results came quickly. In just six weeks, STAGE saw call performance metrics soar.
% of calls where customers hung up before being helped.
% of customers rating support positively post-call.
Internal quality checks on resolution, empathy, and compliance.
Average time taken to resolve customer queries.
% of total calls resolved fully by AI without human intervention.
In just three months, the AI agent not only matched human performance but consistently outperformed it, resolving queries faster, reducing costs, and scaling empathetic support without compromise.
One of the biggest wins wasn’t just faster service, it was trust. Customers who once waited in long queues now connected instantly. Refund conversations sounded less transactional and more like real problem-solving.
But empathy wasn’t left to AI alone. Humans stayed in the loop for more agitated customers or for queries the AI wasn’t trained to handle. This hybrid model meant that customers always felt heard, whether by AI or a human.
And the results spoke for themselves:
• Humans: ~83–84% CSAT
• AI Agent: ~79–81% CSAT
• AI + Human (hybrid): ~84–85% CSAT (highest of all)
Importantly, customers were 2x more likely to share CSAT feedback after an AI Agent-handled call, showing they trusted the AI experience enough to rate it.
"What really stood out to us was how naturally the AI spoke, like someone local who understood our users. It was patient, clear, and effective, which built real trust with our customers."
Encouraged by the results, STAGE now plans to:
• Scale AI to handle 60–70% of all calls
• Extend to outbound use cases like retention nudges
• Move towards 24/7 AI-led support across voice, chat, and WhatsApp
STAGE’s journey shows that AI can be both efficient and empathetic. With the right training and cultural adaptation, automation doesn’t just resolve tickets, it builds relationships.