Turning Navigation into Conversation

How Astra Tech used voice AI in botim to simplify payments, remittances and everyday services.

THE CHALLENGE
 

As botim evolved from a communications app into a fintech-first platform, it had to serve people with different levels of digital literacy, language confidence and familiarity with app navigation. Identity verification, transfers and other regulated journeys involve multiple steps. Every extra tap or unclear instruction could slow adoption and make essential financial services harder to access.

THE ASTRA TECH SOLUTION
 

Astra Tech embedded botim AI as a multilingual voice layer that connects natural conversation directly to the app's services:

→  Real-time voice — Voice Live API and GPT real-time enable low-latency speech-to-speech journeys.

→  Service orchestration — Astra Tech middleware connects user intent to multi-step botim workflows.

→  Clear audio — voice activity detection and noise control support accurate turn-taking.

→  Trusted delivery — content safety, regulatory alignment and geo-distributed resilience.

PLATFORM CAPABILITIES

botim began as a familiar way for people in the UAE to call and message across borders. Astra Tech has built on that reach to make the app a gateway to payments, remittances, wallets and other digital services. But adding more capability does not automatically make an app easier to use. For people who are less confident with menus, forms or the app's interface language, discovering a service can be as difficult as completing it. Astra Tech therefore treated voice as an access layer: users could express an intent naturally and be guided through the relevant journey in their preferred language.

To achieve this, Astra Tech built middleware that connects botim's services to Microsoft's Voice Live API within Azure AI Foundry. The assistant uses a GPT real-time model to deliver low-latency speech-to-speech interaction and orchestrate multi-step tasks. A user can ask to transfer money, receive conversational guidance and pause only for the confirmations required to complete the action. Voice activity detection and noise-control algorithms improve turn-taking in busy homes and workplaces, while Astra Tech's proprietary optimisations protect call quality on weaker networks and during peak demand. Azure AI Content Safety adds responsible-use guardrails, and geo-distributed cloud infrastructure supports resilience and regulatory alignment.

The voice layer now extends across a platform used by a large share of the UAE's smartphone population. botim AI reached 3.6 million users, including 300,000 monthly and 100,000 daily active users, while the platform maintained 99.99% uptime. Wallet transactions grew 375%, and 2025 remittance volumes were projected to exceed AED 10 billion. These results reflect Astra Tech's broader product programme, with the voice assistant contributing by educating users, surfacing relevant features and guiding them into high-value journeys. Each conversation also reveals needs that conventional menu analytics can miss, helping product teams prioritise new services and giving Astra Tech a scalable way to localise experiences as botim enters new markets.

OUTCOMES AT A GLANCE