Boost leads by 10x: Virbe’s Azure OpenAI Service avatars revolutionize customer engagement

Virbe, a Polish startup that automates communication and sales activities, wanted to enable businesses to interact with customers through AI-powered avatars.

Using Azure AI Services, Azure OpenAI Service, and Azure AI Search, Virbe enhanced its AI avatars and simplified engagement with enterprise customers. With guidance from Microsoft, it also introduced its product on the Azure Marketplace as a transactable app, increasing its reach.

With an endlessly customizable product, Virbe's customers have achieved significant benefits, such as a 25% engagement rate and up to a 10x increase in leads.

Today, AI is capable of fluent, human-like conversations. But what if it can also take on everyday customer interactions on behalf of businesses? This is the vision driving Virbe, a Polish startup. Virbe’s AI-powered avatars can engage customers through voice interactions across websites, mobile apps, and even virtual worlds, providing a seamless, accessible, and personalized customer experience.

Krzysztof Wróbel, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Virbe recalls, “Before generative AI went mainstream, people were very skeptical about the technology we offer. Generative AI changed everything. Now, people immediately see the possibilities our product opens up.”

Partner for sustainable growth

From the start, Wróbel pursued various startup accelerator programs with the goal of achieving sustainable growth, ultimately finding the most value with Microsoft. "The support and mentorship we’ve received from Microsoft were unmatched," Wróbel notes. “We were connected with experts early on who helped us navigate the startup landscape.”

Microsoft Azure quickly became Virbe’s go-to platform. “None of the other cloud providers offered the variety of services in one platform,” recalls Wróbel. Virbe could deploy its product directly on customers’ Azure accounts, giving them full control over their data and enabling them to meet local legal requirements for data privacy and security.

Virbe introduced Azure OpenAI Service to power the conversational flow, allowing the avatar to engage naturally. It then used Azure AI Search to pull up relevant company-specific information. This enables customers to configure every aspect of the avatar, including appearance and knowledge base. “Our product uses large language models, embeddings, and other solutions. We’re able to glue all these components together within the Azure ecosystem to make them act in a way that aligns with business goals and solves end-user issues,” adds Wróbel.

But the biggest win came when Virbe chose Azure AI Services to make the avatar sound natural and inviting. "Azure’s neural voice cloning remains the most reliable, secure, and the most scalable solution on the market," Wróbel says. “Microsoft takes the most cautious approach to the matter, requiring early access approval and verbal consent from the person whose voice you intend to clone. Azure’s solution is also about eight times cheaper than its alternatives, making it one of the key features that helped us sell licenses and scale.”

Azure’s neural voice cloning remains the most reliable, secure, and the most scalable solution on the market.

Krzysztof Wróbel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Virbe

More reach, bigger impact

Finally, with encouragement and guidance from Microsoft, Virbe introduced its product to the Azure Marketplace as a transactable application to increase its reach. "Once we had our product on the Azure Marketplace, enterprise customers knew that our product had passed through the rigorous Microsoft compliance process and it’s safe to use in their day-to-day operations," explains Wróbel. The global reach of the Azure Marketplace also enabled Virbe to close deals with customers in countries like India, Japan, and Canada, expanding its footprint without a physical presence.

Once we had our product on the Azure Marketplace, enterprise customers knew that our product had passed through the rigorous Microsoft compliance process and it’s safe to use in their day-to-day operations.

Krzysztof Wróbel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Virbe

Through Microsoft’s mentorship and guidance, Virbe also found a way to lower barriers for potential customers. "Digital avatars are a new technology, and people can sometimes struggle to realize its potential. The decision to offer a free demo on Azure Marketplace made it easier for people to test Virbe and see its ease-of-use firsthand," Wróbel explains.

While Virbe can be used in any industry, its customers have already found innovative ways to integrate digital avatars into their operations. In banks, avatars placed on digital signage screens can act as guides. "When a person walks into a bank branch, the AI avatar can help them check their balance, for example," explains Wróbel.

In retail environments, avatars assist customers with finding products, answering in-depth product questions, and even providing tailored advice. For instance, as winter approaches, the avatar might suggest warmer jogging clothes as an upsell. If a person isn’t a buyer, the AI still captures valuable insights from these conversations, helping businesses understand common questions and needs and improve their service. "This kind of personalized experience is difficult to scale with human staff alone, especially in mass-market retail. But virtual avatars allow retailers to maintain a high level of service without adding personnel costs," Wróbel notes.

The avatars are already attracting eyeballs. “A major retailer in Poland saw a 25% engagement rate using our product. Engaging a quarter of customers provides valuable insights to the retailer," adds Wróbel. At conferences, Virbe's AI avatars help businesses stand out in crowded settings. The AI avatar proactively detects when someone approaches, engaging people passing by. "With Azure OpenAI, one customer reported a 10x increase in leads," says Wróbel. “It’s still early days so this number will likely change but it’s good to know that the solution is making a difference.”

With Azure OpenAI, one customer reported a 10x increase in leads.

Krzysztof Wróbel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Virbe

The flexibility of Virbe’s platform allows customers to configure the avatar's role. "The digital avatar can act as a virtual sales rep or it can just be a helpful interaction," Wróbel explains. Businesses can choose whether the avatar collects information like emails or keeps the conversation completely anonymous in alignment with local data protection regulations.

The power of persistence

As AI technology evolves, Virbe advances with it. “We’re particularly excited about Azure’s “personal voice” feature, which could allow voice cloning in 30 seconds. It’s in limited access now, but once it’s broadly available, it will be even easier to deploy Virbe’s solution securely and at scale with Azure’s offerings,” shares Wróbel.

Wróbel reflects on the Virbe’s journey. "The key factor in our success so far has been persistence," he says. Navigating a market where conversational AI wasn't mainstream required dedication. "I believed it had potential, but sometimes it’s hard to keep your business operational until the market aligns with your vision," Wróbel adds. Support and mentorship programs, like Microsoft’s, were instrumental in Virbe overcoming challenges. "Success stories only reveal the tip of the iceberg, while the invisible majority is filled with struggle. But if you’re persistent in your vision and effort, and you have the support of a partner like Microsoft, you can overcome anything,” concludes Wróbel.

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