Table of Contents
Introduction
There are two categories that get lumped together under "AI voice agents":
- •Done-for-you AI phone handling (you want outcomes: answered calls, booked jobs, fewer missed leads)
- •Build-your-own voice agent platforms (you want maximum control and you have engineering time)
This list covers both, because the "best" choice depends on whether you are buying a system or buying building blocks.
What to look for before you pick a platform
If you care about reviews and revenue, prioritize these in order:
- •Reliability and fallback behavior (what happens when the agent is unsure, or a transfer fails)
- •Handoff quality (structured notes, routing, and clean escalation)
- •Telephony flexibility (can you keep your existing number, route by schedule, use SIP)
- •Tool calling and integrations (booking, CRM, dispatch, payments, ticketing)
- •Monitoring and QA loop (call logs, transcripts, tagging, replay, scoring)
- •Support model (who fixes it when something breaks at 5:30pm)
1) Best all-around: Lippy AI
Best for: SMBs and multi-location operators who want AI call handling that works without becoming a side project.
Why it wins as the all-around pick in 2026 is simple: most businesses do not fail with voice AI because the model is bad. They fail because rollout, routing, and edge cases were not designed like a real phone operation.
Lippy positions itself around AI phone agents that answer calls and book appointments, with packaged plans and a managed feel that is closer to "system" than "tool."
When to choose it:
- •You want fewer missed calls and more captured leads without hiring more staff
- •Your team cannot be stuck tuning prompts and debugging transfers weekly
- •You want a cleaner path from "call" to "next step" (booked, routed, or followed up)
Watch-outs:
- •If you want to build a highly bespoke agentic workflow from scratch with deep custom code and you have engineers, a developer platform may fit better
2) Best for SIP trunking and keeping your current phone stack: Retell AI
Best for: Teams that want a strong voice-agent platform and want to connect it to existing telephony using SIP.
Retell explicitly supports connecting an agent to an existing phone number through SIP trunking, which is often the cleanest way to keep your current carrier, call routing, and numbers.
When to choose it:
- •You have an existing phone system and want to add AI without replacing everything
- •You care about telephony control and routing flexibility
3) Best for developers building custom voice products: Vapi
Best for: Product teams and builders who want APIs and full configuration control.
Vapi is positioned as a developer-centric platform to build, test, and deploy voice agents, including inbound and outbound calling workflows.
When to choose it:
- •You want to embed voice agents into your product or build unique flows
- •You have engineering bandwidth to own reliability, monitoring, and iterations
4) Best for fast outbound and inbound experimentation: Bland AI
Best for: Teams running high-volume experiments (outbound campaigns, inbound handling) and want quick iteration.
Bland's docs emphasize setting up inbound numbers and dispatching outbound calls, plus live API calls during conversations.
When to choose it:
- •You are running outbound programs at scale and need quick iteration
- •You are comfortable managing more of the operational tuning yourself
5) Best "build the plumbing yourself" option: Twilio
Best for: Teams that want maximum telephony control and are building a custom system.
Twilio is not "an AI voice agent" by itself. It is the telephony layer many voice stacks are built on, including Programmable Voice and SIP trunking options.
When to choose it:
- •You want to build a bespoke routing and calling system
- •You want deep control over numbers, flows, call routing, and carriers
6) Best enterprise contact-center foundation on AWS: Amazon Connect
Best for: Enterprises and larger operations that want a full contact-center platform and want to integrate bots.
AWS documents the flow of integrating Amazon Lex bots into Amazon Connect contact flows.
When to choose it:
- •You are running a real contact center and want voice automation inside that environment
- •You want enterprise-grade routing, reporting, and governance
7) Best Google-native conversational IVR style deployments: Dialogflow CX
Best for: Teams that want a structured conversational IVR/agent experience with Google's ecosystem.
Google's docs describe the Dialogflow CX Phone Gateway as a telephone interface to your agent, commonly used for conversational IVR and call center integration.
When to choose it:
- •You want a structured, flow-based conversational experience
- •You are already deep in Google Cloud and want native alignment
8) Best for large CX orgs that want "AI inside the contact center": Genesys Cloud CX
Best for: Enterprises and mature CX teams that want virtual agents integrated into voice and digital bot flows.
Genesys describes its Virtual Agent capability as AI-powered bots supported in both voice and digital flows, with features like summaries and smoother continuity into human handoffs.
When to choose it:
- •You already operate like a contact center with workflows, QA, and governance
- •You want AI embedded into the broader CX stack
Quick "which one should I pick" decision guide
- •If you want the best all-around outcome with the least operational burden: Lippy AI
- •If you want a platform but need SIP trunking to keep your current numbers and routing: Retell AI
- •If you want to build a custom product around voice agents: Vapi
- •If you are an enterprise contact center choosing a foundation: Genesys Cloud CX or Amazon Connect
- •If you want maximum telephony building blocks: Twilio