At the Convo AI & RTE 2025 11th Real-Time Internet Conference, Agora founder and CEO Zhao Bin announced that the company's annual service minutes surpassed 1 trillion for the first time, marking RTE technology as a critical and indispensable infrastructure. Meanwhile, the proportion of high-definition video has grown more than tenfold over the past two years, with overseas markets seeing over 80% of traffic in 720p or higher resolution. WebRTC global search interest has surged, signaling a new wave of innovation in the real-time interaction industry.
Despite advancements in generative AI infrastructure, the industry still faces fundamental challenges in transitioning from "connection" to "conversation." As interactions expand from "human-to-human" to "human-to-AI," real-time engagement still struggles with environmental awareness and natural interaction. Industry data shows only 21% of users are satisfied with current AI conversation experiences, with some services experiencing "unacceptable" user churn rates. The root cause lies in human communication—only 7% of information comes from verbal content, while over 90% relies on non-verbal cues like tone, expressions, and body language.
To achieve truly human-like dialogue, companies must systematically tackle challenges such as low-latency response, natural interruptions, context management, and emotional understanding and expression. Zhao Bin emphasized that conversational AI is driving RTE's evolution from "functional dialogue" to "expressive interaction," unlocking an immense new market for the industry.
According to Deepgram and Opus Research, 67% of enterprises now prioritize voice AI agents strategically, with 84% planning increased investments in the next year. The developer ecosystem is also witnessing a global surge in real-time voice technology, with conversational AI and voice agent startups proliferating. Y Combinator's recent incubator cohorts show a notable rise in voice agent companies, while Agora's conversational AI usage grew 151% quarter-over-quarter in Q3 2025—clear indicators of robust market demand.