I went to ElevenLabs' NYC pop-up. A robot poured me cold brew before I haggled with an AI shopkeeper.

• “Our founder is always encouraging us to show, not tell,” ElevenLabs’ Sam Sklar told Business Insider.
• Other features, like the coffee-pouring robot, didn’t stick the landing.

Adam was great at pouring cold brew. Almond milk proved challenging.

I tried bartering for lower prices with an AI shopkeeper.

Sure enough, there was the ElevenLabs AI photo tool, ready to make me into a comic book.

I called my AI agent on the telephone.

There was a phone booth in the corner, where attendees could call an AI agent. I picked up the phone. The agent asked me what industry I wanted to hear about.

I answered “media,” and it told me about TV stations that use ElevenLabs to translate their broadcasts. That use case was interesting — honestly, more interesting than any of the screens or activations in the pop-up.

I couldn’t imagine stores setting up AI bartering agents, but I could certainly see the value of TV translation.

I left feeling lightly caffeinated.

After sipping about a quarter of my coffee, I decided that I’d rather not stay up all night. I tossed it.

Did I see the revelatory future of AI voices? Not particularly. But I had a good time, and I learned a thing or two.