SoundHound AI launch at MWC 2026 brings real-time agentic AI to the retail store sales floor

SoundHound AI has announced the launch of Sales Assist, a new voice powered AI agent for retail which will debut this week at Mobile World Congress 2026 (Hall 7, Booth 7E40).

Designed for in-store teams, this provides real-time AI informational prompts to floor staff - for example, at telecoms retail locations. It supports in-store staff during live customer conversations, analying intent and context, and delivering instant, data driven recommendations directly to a tablet or any device with a microphone and a screen - from upgrades and bundles to cross-sell opportunities and compliance disclosures.

Instead of having customers wait while associates log into multiple systems, search through pricing plans or manually calculate upgrade options, SoundHound’s Sales Assist agent surfaces the right offer instantly, within the natural flow of conversation.

Powered by the company’s proprietary Polaris automatic speech recognition (ASR), the AI is purpose built for fast paced, noisy retail environments with minimal latency. It works by orchestrating multiple specialised AI agents that securely access CRM, billing, promotions, product databases, and coverage tools. 

“Voice assistants and chatbots have been around for years, but truly effective, enterprise grade voice interaction is only now becoming possible,” says Michael Anderson, EVP of Enterprise AI at SoundHound AI. 

“With AI maturing, voice is evolving into a central customer interface that doesn’t just respond but resolves. The Sales Assist agent demonstrates how agentic AI can transform retail environments in real-time, and MWC is the perfect platform to bring this next generation of customer experience AI to Europe.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.