Audio Is Becoming the Interface. We Have Been Building for It Already.

A recent article in TechCrunch argues that Silicon Valley has effectively declared war on screens. With OpenAI reorganising around audio models and preparing audio-first devices, and voice assistants appearing in cars, glasses, and homes, the direction of travel is clear.

Conversation is becoming the primary interface.

What is often missed in this discussion is that audio-first interaction is not mainly about futuristic hardware. It is about fit. Voice works best where screens are inconvenient, exclusionary, or actively harmful to focus.

Healthcare clinics are a good example.

At SunKite Consulting, we have been deploying conversational AI voice agents in real service environments, not demos. In clinics, these systems handle inbound enquiries, appointment bookings, confirmations, and follow-ups. They reduce admin pressure without removing the human touch.

In one pilot with a London specialist clinic, a conversational AI agent re-engaged dormant enquiries that staff had stopped chasing. The result was additional consultations without adding workload to patient advisors.

Three lessons stand out from this work:

• Voice is a workflow, not a feature
• Trust and tone matter more than technical novelty
• Human escalation must be designed in, not bolted on

Audio-first AI is not about replacing people. It is about protecting their time and attention.

As the industry races toward conversational devices, the real opportunity lies in deploying voice systems that work quietly, ethically, and reliably in the background.

That is where we are focused.