At the simplest level, an IVR
(Interactive Voice Response) is an automated interface that allows you to interact with callers to gather data, and potentially resolve an issue without having to direct that caller to an agent. For example, if they just want to know their account balance.
Before I go deeper into WHAT an
IVR is, I think we should start with the WHY. Why should you use an IVR in your contact center? Some core advantages of an IVR in a contact center environment include:
And that is just the tip of the iceberg on how an IVR can add simple things that make a big difference to your caller’s experience.
At a more technical level, an IVR is an automated system that interacts with callers for gathering information and offering the caller options to select from to convey the reason for their call. IVRs are often used in Call Centers, where collected customer data and menu selections are used in an
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) to route incoming calls to available, appropriately skilled agents.
Basic IVRs often use DTMF (Dual Tone – Multi Frequency) to accept entry, a method that is also used to dial telephone numbers. Widely used for telecommunication signaling, it enables a caller to execute some basic interactions with a telecommunications platform by using their telephone keys. Examples for this type of basic interaction include menu selections (“Please press 1 for Sales, 2 for Service”) or simple data gathering (“Please enter your five-digit customer number, followed by the number sign.”).
Today, simple IVR as described above is still used in many
call centers. However, Voice Portals offering more sophisticated functionality such as Text-To-Speech (TTS), Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), and mobile app integration are increasingly replacing the somewhat limited and not very customer friendly DTMF approach. Together with other tools, such as database integration, this enables the automation of more complex interactions and / or natural interaction with the caller. Boundaries between voice and digital channels are blurring, for example in a Visual IVR where interactions that were originally intended to be voice calls are transformed into a web-based interaction when the caller uses a smart phone. In the future,
Automation and Artificial Intelligence are expected to play and even larger role, both in the traditional front-end by turning the former
IVR into a fully automated interaction platform that intelligently learns to increase its own scope, as well as on the backend, as a supporting tool for the agent.
