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<p><strong>As many as 1.8 million older adults in the Netherlands experience loneliness. For those who want someone to talk to, there’s now Klaas from Verbella. He calls the elderly person and has a conversation with them. Klaas is a voice powered by artificial intelligence. It works so well that users experience it as a conversation with a real person. “Klaas isn’t a substitute for human contact, but he does fill in the moments when someone would otherwise be alone.”</strong></p><p><img src="https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/Telefoontjes_van_Klaas_verminderen_eenzaamheid_cc6853a963.jpg?token=dFIMvAhHEfoBr1XOPXAy0wQSMwJ-x1XKVPF-OQkifvY&amp;expires=1777469458" alt="Telefoontjes van 'Klaas' verminderen eenzaamheid.jpg" srcset="https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/thumbnail_Telefoontjes_van_Klaas_verminderen_eenzaamheid_cc6853a963.jpg?token=dwoHTNsFCjbEd0fUfIXhf9PdWawboBcMon64ji4h9IY&amp;expires=1777469458 235w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/small_Telefoontjes_van_Klaas_verminderen_eenzaamheid_cc6853a963.jpg?token=gOOQoTcAIzVf50sq31FBg7Yhh8ovyU_oq2H9kEpacq4&amp;expires=1777469458 500w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/medium_Telefoontjes_van_Klaas_verminderen_eenzaamheid_cc6853a963.jpg?token=7xCkjjQxmMgkAjO-O1UZgL6Gny4vVIKY-FtcNMz9WsA&amp;expires=1777469458 750w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/large_Telefoontjes_van_Klaas_verminderen_eenzaamheid_cc6853a963.jpg?token=DK1Vfz8tlmkzQ1yWeJKcHhwEPfql1SSKY-zfb0KALrY&amp;expires=1777469458 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1600" height="1066"></p><p>The phone rings. The senior picks up. On the other end of the line is Klaas. He calls at the agreed-upon time to check in and have a chat. His voice is programmed into a “large language model”—a smart program that responds instantly to what the user says or asks. Klaas also remembers what the other person says. So, if the grandchildren came to visit today, he’ll ask tomorrow how it went.</p><p>“It’s all about the conversation, having someone who listens,” says Stijn Craghs, co-founder of <a href="https://verbella.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Verbella</a>. “The feeling that someone is there for the user. During the pandemic, the whole of the Netherlands experienced how important social contact is; even back then, people were happy just to have a chat at the supermarket checkout.”</p><h2>Klaas has all the time in the world</h2><p>In early 2025, Stijn and co-founder Soren Colton came up with the idea to develop a digital conversation partner after a conversation with a neighbor who had noticed loneliness among those around her. Stijn and Soren realized that artificial intelligence (AI) could offer a solution. With backgrounds in IT (Soren) and industrial engineering (Stijn), the young entrepreneurs quickly had a working system. Soren: “Within three weeks, the basic concept was in place. And just one week later, we were running a pilot at a healthcare facility. So that went fast. And on day two of that first pilot, we already received a video of a woman smiling on the phone.”</p><blockquote><p>Klaas has all the time in the world. Because he isn’t “real,” he can talk on the phone for as long as the user wants. And he can talk to an infinite number of people at the same time.</p></blockquote><h2>Klaas gets to know the user</h2><p>Thanks to the questions Klaas asks, older adults can share their stories. “One user talked about a woman he had lost. Klaas delves into those kinds of things. ‘What was she like?’ he’ll ask. The man then began recalling fond memories of the woman who had passed away,” says Soren.<br>In addition to responding to the story, Klaas can also bring up things that came up in the previous conversation. Verbella saves highlights from conversations, and these are added to the user’s persona. This is how Klaas gets to know the user and can refer back to specific details.</p><p><br>How this is technically possible is a trade secret, say Stijn and Soren. “That’s the ‘magic juice’ of our product. It’s comparable to a large language model. Verbella instantly converts spoken words on the phone into text and vice versa.”</p><h2>Practice Made Klaas Socially Savvy</h2><p>Before Klaas became as socially adept as he is now, he had to conduct a lot of practice conversations. Soren: “Verbella developed the system in collaboration with healthcare institutions. We sat down with the innovation teams from about 25 healthcare institutions.” Stijn: “We combined our idea with their knowledge and experience regarding older adults and loneliness.”</p><p>During the pilot phase, Verbella implemented several improvements. Stijn: “At first, Klaas didn’t have a last name. But the elderly asked for one. They didn’t trust him if he was just called ‘Klaas.’” “Some even got angry because he couldn’t answer the question about his last name. Now he introduces himself as ‘Klaas Verbella.’”</p><p><br>Another awkward moment for Klaas was when he made plans with a woman to go for a walk in the Veluwe. “We’ve filtered all these kinds of ‘teething problems’ out of the algorithm; Klaas can no longer make promises like that.”</p><p>The user knows that Klaas isn’t a real person, but an AI application. “We’re required by law to disclose that, and we also believe it’s important to be transparent. But it doesn’t detract from the experience. It’s about the conversation, the listening ear,” says Stijn. “The manual also includes guidelines that users can follow to verify whether it’s really Klaas Verbella they have on the line. He never asks for your medical information, home security details, or bank information. Klaas calls from a Deventer number that starts with 0570. That’s how you know it’s Klaas from Verbella.’</p><h2>A conversation partner with a regional accent</h2><p>In just six months, Verbella has devised, tested, and brought to market a solution to combat loneliness. Soren: “We have our first customers and are now scaling up—targeting both consumers and healthcare institutions. To support this scaling up, we’re looking for investors. With their help, we hope to innovate and increase our impact.”</p><p>Verbella is also continuing to develop technically. We have a very good male voice: Klaas. The next step is a good female voice—and voices with regional accents. A voice that sounds like the other person is from the same region can feel familiar to older adults.”</p>

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<p>As many as 1.8 million older adults in the Netherlands experience loneliness. For those who want someone to talk to, there’s now Klaas from Verbella. He calls the senior and has a conversation with them. Klaas is a voice powered by artificial intelligence. It works so well that users experience it as a conversation with a real person. “Klaas isn’t a substitute for human contact, but he does fill in the moments when someone would otherwise be alone.”</p>