Reliance Jio Unveils AI Voice Assistant That Joins Your Phone Calls
Reliance Jio is preparing to launch an AI-powered voice assistant that can sit inside a live phone call, listen in, and take actions - booking cabs, ordering food, or making reservations - without the user ever leaving the conversation.
Announced at Reliance Industries' 49th annual general meeting, the service is called Jio Call Agent. Unlike standalone AI assistants that require a separate app or subscription, Jio is embedding it directly into its telecom network, making it available to all of its 500 million-plus subscribers by saying "Hey Jio" during an active call - with consent from all participants.
During the call, the assistant can transcribe in real time, distinguish between up to 10 speakers on a conference call, generate summaries, extract action items, and share notes with participants afterward. It can also execute transactions mid-call - ordering food, booking a cab, or reserving a table at a restaurant - without the user switching to another app.
The move is part of a broader push by Reliance to position itself as India's homegrown AI champion. Chairman Mukesh Ambani framed it as a national imperative, stating that India "should not be a mere consumer of AI created elsewhere" and must become a creator and global leader in the space.
Beyond Voice Calls
Alongside Jio Call Agent, the company also unveiled an AI-powered version of its MyJio app, which lets users manage their accounts and activate services through natural-language requests. Another product, Jio TeleFrame, is a home display that uses AI agents to proactively surface information like weather alerts, schedules, and reminders - joining the growing category of ambient home assistants being explored by Amazon and Google.
Reliance also announced a suite of AI services targeting specific sectors: JioHealthIQ for healthcare, JioLearnIQ for education, JioKrishiIQ for agriculture, and AI Vyapar for small businesses. All operate across multiple Indian languages.
The Infrastructure Play
Behind the consumer-facing products, Reliance is building out a sovereign AI infrastructure through its subsidiary Reliance Intelligence. A 120-megawatt data center is under development in Jamnagar, expected to go live by the end of 2026, powered by an initial deployment of Nvidia's GB300 GPUs.
The company says this will provide domestic hosting for AI models with full model transparency and portability, giving Indian enterprises control over their data and intellectual property - a direct response to concerns about dependency on foreign AI providers after recent restrictions on access to Anthropic's models affected Indian startups.
Jio IPO in Sight
The shareholder meeting also brought a major update for investors: Jio Platforms' board has approved a draft prospectus for an initial public offering, including a fresh issue of up to 270 million shares. The IPO has been long anticipated, and the AI push gives Jio a fresh growth narrative as the company diversifies beyond telecom.
Reliance has existing partnerships with Google, Meta, and Nvidia, and recently announced a collaboration with Meta to establish an AI data center in Gujarat. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Adani Group have also been expanding their AI initiatives, but Reliance' ability to reach half a billion users directly through its telecom network gives it a distribution advantage few Indian companies can match.