January 27, 2026
TELUS and RingCentral Expand AI Business Communications in Canada
Canadian organisations are experiencing heavier call volumes, higher customer expectations, and limited room to add staff. In response, TELUS and RingCentral have expanded TELUS Business Connect with a new set of AI-powered features aimed at making everyday business communications easier to manage and more effective.
The expanded platform builds on the long-standing partnership between TELUS and RingCentral, adding advanced conversational AI and automation across calling, messaging, meetings, and contact centre operations. The focus is practical rather than experimental: helping teams handle routine interactions faster, reduce manual work, and better manage customer conversations.
Doing More with Less
Business Connect replaces traditional on-premise phone systems with a cloud-based communications platform that brings voice, messaging, and meetings into one place. Many businesses will leverage this for internal collaboration. With the latest update, the platform also takes on tasks that typically sit with employees, such as call handling, follow-ups, and basic customer queries.
The new AI capabilities are designed to fit into how teams already work, without requiring specialist technical skills. TELUS and RingCentral say the update is a response to real operational pressures, where service teams need to do more with the same resources while maintaining consistent customer experiences.
One of the additions is RingCentral’s AI Assistant, known as AVA (introduced in November 2025), which works during live conversations, offering real-time guidance based on context, capturing key details, and automatically turning discussions into actions. This reduces the need for post-call admin and helps teams move faster from conversation to outcome.
AI to the Rescue
The platform also introduces another AI feature, the AI Receptionist, or AIR, which acts as a virtual phone agent. The receptionist can understand why someone is calling, answer common questions, book appointments, and route calls to the right destination based on context and directory data. Businesses struggling with missed calls or long wait times can improve responsiveness without adding staff.
Sales and service managers gain access to AI Insights through RingCentral ACE. This feature analyses conversations to surface sentiment trends and performance signals. Instead of reviewing large volumes of calls manually, managers can focus on specific moments where coaching or process changes are likely to have the most impact.
Customer-facing teams can also use AI Chat to manage website conversations in real time. The tool handles frequently asked questions instantly, while human agents step in for more complex issues. This approach helps shorten response times while keeping support available when nuance or judgement is needed.
Organisations running larger service operations can make use of RingCX’s extended AI support in the contact centre. The omnichannel solution covers more than 20 digital channels and includes AI assistance for both agents and supervisors. The goal is to support consistent service levels, even as demand shifts across channels.
