Introducing Eleven v3 (alpha)

ElevenLabs vs. Poly.ai

Feb 24, 2025 • 2 minutes reading time

What does each platform bring to the table?

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Summary

ElevenLabs and Poly.ai are advanced conversational AI platforms that enable the creation of customizable voice agents.
Both platforms support API integrations, telephony systems, and multilingual applications, with ElevenLabs offering 70+ languages and Poly.ai supporting 12 languages.
ElevenLabs offers a more extensive voice library and customization options, whereas Poly.ai easily integrates with existing business systems.

Overview

ElevenLabs and Poly.ai are powerful conversational AI orchestration platforms that offer unique advantages for businesses and developers. ElevenLabs stands out with its in-house TTS and STT models, which provide latency and voice quality advantages. Poly.ai specializes in branded AI agents capable of natural, real-time customer interactions. Both platforms support API and telephony integrations, making them suitable choices for enhancing customer engagement.

Introduction to ElevenLabs and Poly.ai

Conversational AI orchestration platforms, like ElevenLabs and Poly.ai, enable developers to create customizable voice agents. These voice agents now handle customer support calls, train 911 dispatchers, and power new journalistic experiences.

Most platforms combine speech-to-text (STT), a large language model (LLM), and text-to-speech (TTS), along with built-in turn-taking and interruption handling, to support natural, human-like conversations.

Feature comparison

Both ElevenLabs and Poly.ai offer high-quality features for conversational AI. That said, let’s explore each platform’s specific features and see how they measure up:

Provider	ElevenLabs	Poly.ai
Includes an extensive voice library	Includes an extensive voice library with over 5,000 voices across 32 languages and numerous regional accents. Users can design new voices from a text prompt or clone their own.	Offers lifelike AI agents with customizable branded voices.
Latency	Uses the Flash model, which is the fastest, most human-like TTS available. Also has an advantage for end-to-end latency, saving two server calls through in-house TTS and STT.	Emphasizes real-time, natural conversations with customers.
Tools & API Calls	Provides server tools to call third-party apps or APIs to fetch real-time information or take action. Also offers client tools to trigger browser events, run client-side functions, or send notifications to a UI.	Provides integration with existing tech stacks, allowing AI agents to perform tasks such as booking reservations and managing accounts.
Languages	Supports 30+ languages. Allows users to set a custom voice or first message for each language.	Capable of handling conversations in 12 languages, enabling global customer support.
Concurrency	Concurrency by tier for ElevenLabs base plans is available here. Custom limits are available to handle scale for the largest enterprises.	Designed to handle high call volumes, with case studies reporting over 50% of calls resolved by AI agents.
LLM	Allows users to select from leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and DeepSeek or integrate their own custom LLM.	Utilizes advanced LLMs to understand and generate human-like responses, ensuring engaging and contextually relevant conversations.
Knowledge Base Management	Allows users to import files, URLs, or plain text to equip their agents with relevant, domain-specific information.	Provides integration with existing CRMs, knowledge bases, CCaaS, and telephony providers.
Telephony Integrations	Offers PCM 8000 Hz or μ-law 8000 Hz sample rates for integration with any provider. For additional information, refer to the Twilio quickstart guide.	Easily integrates with existing telephony systems, allowing smooth deployment without overhauling current infrastructure.
Data Retention	By default, ElevenLabs retains conversation data for 2 years. Users can modify this period to any number of days, unlimited retention, or immediate deletion.	Emphasizes data security and privacy, ensuring customer interactions are handled with strict confidentiality. Specific data retention policies are not publicly disclosed.
Tracking & Analytics	Allows users to review past recordings, transcripts, and call summaries. Offers custom prompts to tag calls based on internal success criteria and extract data from transcripts.	Offers real-time analytics and reporting tools to monitor performance, identify trends, and continuously improve customer interactions.

Final thoughts

Based on our feature exploration, both platforms provide reliable solutions for conversational AI creation.

ElevenLabs leads the way with its extensive voice library, integrated STT and TTS services, and comprehensive language support, making it a worthy contender for various use cases. Likewise, Poly.ai focuses on creating lifelike AI agents capable of natural, real-time conversations, appealing to enterprises seeking to enhance customer engagement through conversational AI.

Considering all the advantages, your final choice will likely depend on your specific requirements, budget, and use cases.

Conversational AI

Flowchart diagram with black and white nodes labeled "USER," "SPEECH TO TEXT," "TEXT TO SPEECH," "AGENT," "LLM," "MONITORING," and "FUNCTION CALLING" connected by curved lines on a blue gradient background.

Add voice to your agents on web, mobile or telephony in minutes. Our realtime API delivers low latency, full configurability, and seamless scalability.

FAQs

ElevenLabs specializes in advanced text to speech (TTS) technology, offering highly realistic and expressive voice generation for diverse applications. Poly.ai focuses on conversational AI for customer service, focusing on natural language understanding and CRM integration.

ElevenLabs supports 70+ languages, providing extensive multilingual capabilities. Poly.ai offers conversational support in 12 languages, catering to international businesses.

Yes, both ElevenLabs and Poly.ai provide reliable telephony integration, including support for Twilio and existing business call center systems.

ElevenLabs offers flexible data retention policies, including options for immediate deletion and long-term retention. Poly.ai emphasizes data security and privacy, ensuring customer data is handled with strict confidentiality.

Poly.ai specializes in creating branded AI agents that align with a company’s voice and tone. ElevenLabs offers extensive voice customization and cloning options, providing more flexibility in voice design and application.