What Is IVR (Interactive Voice Response)? How Does It Work?

Have you ever called a customer support number, and instead of giving information to a live person, you’ve spoken with a pre-recorded voice that guides you through a different call routing automation? This is called IVR, or interactive voice response. If you’ve ever called a large business, bank, or technology company, you’re probably already familiar with these pre-recorded messages.

Let’s understand what IVR is, how it works, and why it might be used.

Understanding IVR

An Interactive Voice Response system is an automated business phone feature that interacts with callers and gathers information by allowing the caller to make choices and perform actions based on selected options. Depending on what the caller says or types on the keypad, specific actions can be performed.

A common example of IVR is probably something you experience almost every day when an automated voice says something like, “To speak with the accounting department, press 1. To speak with HR, press 2.” This business feature routes callers to human agents who can better handle their needs.

Sometimes, IVR is not interactive; it is just used to convey information. Often, IVR is used to notify incoming callers that conversations might be recorded before asking if they want to proceed. Other times, it might be used to inform callers of upcoming promotions or updates.

Benefits of an IVR Application

One of the main benefits of using IVR for small businesses and larger companies is that it funnels calls to appropriate locations without the need for a human dispatcher to redirect calls. This can, ideally, lead to a better customer experience and helps to save the business money on operational costs while also making it more convenient when it comes to handling calls.

This lessens wait times for consumers who want to know an account balance or schedule an appointment. Since anyone can call the number at any time and speak with an automated voice, customers can then be sent to their appropriate locations in a snap. They don’t need to endure long hold times to connect to a single dispatcher who would’ve needed to do the routing themselves in real-time. Using IVR in tandem with an automatic call distribution program (ACD) can be especially helpful as your business scales and starts receiving more calls.

IVR also can help improve customer satisfaction by cutting down the number of times information needs to be repeated. When customers use the IVR feature to give information, this can be stored in a company’s database without needing to speak to a representative. 

Then, once you speak with a live person, they can access some of the data that you’ve already input to make for a smooth transition.

Drawbacks of IVR

While IVR has come a long way since its fruition, it isn’t perfect. The natural language processing used by IVR providers has evolved but is still lacking.

There are times when the IVR might not fully understand what you are saying, which can lead to inaccurate data configuration. This can lead to customer frustration, as it can sometimes take longer to get through a digital phone system rather than just speaking to a live agent right out the gate or leaving a voicemail.

Customer experience is usually the most significant limitation of IVR. While these systems are intelligent and can often understand human speech, there are limits to what can and cannot be said to the software. With that in mind, some customers might not be able to transfer to the appropriate department purely because their issue is not something that the IVR technology is familiar with.

Voice recognition has trouble understanding certain dialects and accents that most human operators would not have trouble comprehending. This has caused IVR to come under fire because the main accents that voice recognition software cannot recognize are those of minority groups.

Despite the drawbacks, this is a valuable piece of technology for large businesses that receive a high call volume and might not have enough live agents to handle it. Inbound calls with IVR solutions have a much better call flow, reducing wait times to speak to appropriate departments.

How Does IVR Work?

In order for your business to get IVR, you need three things. The first and foremost is an IVR software that can run the program itself. This is separate from the main communications platform that you’re using to make inbound and outbound calls. Additionally, it needs to have its own set of hardware, like a computer, in order to function.

You need a database for the IVR system to pull information from. Plus, it needs infrastructure to support it, which usually requires a wide range of servers — especially for larger businesses.

With that said, newer cloud contact center solutions usually have IVR integrated into their systems already. Sometimes called voice portals, these systems usually have everything you need to make the technology work without all of those extra, antiquated steps above.

Regardless, when a customer calls your phone line and is greeted by an IVR, they begin to navigate menu options. This is sometimes called a phone tree because there are several branches the consumer can navigate through to get to the appropriate department.

As the caller goes through the menu, their purpose for calling can sometimes be resolved through the IVR service without ever needing to speak with a representative. If not, the software routes the call to a qualifying agent who can better equip the customer with whatever help they need.

How To ByPass IVR

Despite the many benefits of IVR, it can be frustrating when you have a time-sensitive request that is bogged down by monotonous IVR menus. Sometimes, you want to speak with a live person.

The easiest way to bypass IVR is by knowing the party’s extension that you’re trying to reach. Of course, if you’re calling an institution for the first time, you probably wouldn’t know what the extension is without having called them first.

Some IVR systems will connect you to a human after a few “invalid entries” that do not navigate the menu. You can usually do this by pressing 0 multiple times in rapid succession. With that said, some IVR systems will hang up if they feel like the incoming call is invalid to try to reduce spam calls and robocalls.

If the advanced IVR system uses voice recognition, you can sometimes ask the system to speak with a human directly. Say “get human” (or “representative”), and the system will sometimes send you directly to a call center agent.

IVR can improve the customer journey and better address customer needs. But in the event you just can’t be bothered to speak with artificial intelligence, try to use these tips instead.

In Conclusion

IVR is a way for businesses to funnel calls to appropriate departments without the need for a live agent. Callers navigate through a self-service menu either using a touch-tone keypad selection or their voice to narrow down their query before speaking with a human representative, if needed, during business hours.

IVR is highly beneficial for businesses because it reduces the need for a live dispatcher who would otherwise need to funnel every call. This reduces wait times for callers and consumers, as the IVR system might be able to address their questions without needing to speak to a human.

Enhance your business phone with Dialed, which protects you from spam calls and other junk calls while still giving you full functionality on your business line. Dialed’s free app is an easy way to maintain the integrity of your identity by offering unlimited local phone numbers in the area code of your choice. Dialed’s advanced business features include setting up a custom caller ID, sharing one number across multiple team members’ phones, and more. 

Choose your number and get started today.

Sources:

What is Interactive Voice Response (IVR)? | IBM

Speech Recognition | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C

The accent gap problem in minorities and dialect speakers | Technology Org