The full form of IVR is Interactive Voice Response which is an automated telephony system. The interactive voice response system is used to interact with callers and to take inputs from them.
These inputs from the callers through the IVR system is used to provide options or routes their calls to the recipients accordingly.
in other words, IVR is an automated phone system having call routing capabilities.
The interactive voice response is designed to receive the voice telephone input as well as touch-tone keypad selection that is used to provide response accordingly in the media form such as voice, call back, email, etc.
Hence the interactive voice response is a technology that is used where the computers interact with human callers through voice and DTMF keypad inputs.
This interactive voice response technology allows humans to interact or communicate with computer-operated phone systems through voice and DTMF tones inputs via a keypad where the computer-based IVR receives the inputs and forwards them to the relevant support department of the system or business.
About IVR
- The interactive voice response is a telecommunication method where the IVR system allows customers or users to communicate with a company’s host or support team via a telephone keypad or speech recognition technology. Hereafter services are inquired about through the interactive voice response dialogue.
- These IVR systems may respond to the customer with pre-recorded or dynamically created audio and it further directs users on how to proceed with their inquiry or query.
- The interactive voice response system that works in between the network is sized to handle large call support volumes as well as for outbound calling because these IVR systems are more efficient and smart than other predictive dialler systems.
- These interactive voice response systems are used for mobile purchases, services, retail orders, banking payments, travel information, utilities, weather conditions, etc.
- Users or customers can access a database of information through phone due to the IVR system which contains pre-recorded options for the caller to select from.
- Out of these some of the options can also ask the user or caller to enter detailed information to access the database.
- Banks, credit card companies, and D2H operators use this IVR system so their users can access information about their accounts and can receive updated account information immediately without any delay or without any human interaction.
- The IVR system can also be used for phone surveys, to check movie times, etc. similarly, telecom operators use the IVR system due to which customers can call in and check their call balance, plan validity, offers, call rates, bills, and recent recharge, etc.
History IVR
- The first-ever commercial application of the interactive voice response system was designed as an order inventory control system which was developed by Steven Schmidt in 1973.
- In the 1990s call centres started to migrate to multimedia when companies began to invest in computer telephony integration along with IVR systems.
- Here these IVR systems became important for call centres where it worked as an agent to collect customer data to enable intelligent routing decisions.
- In the 2000s voice response systems became famous and more common and cheaper to use.
- An interactive voice response system includes telephony equipment, database, software application, a supporting infrastructure. The telephone line of the company is connected to the computer where this IVR system is installed. Here the hardware called a telephone board or telephony card is required.
Benefits of IVR
- IVR saves a lot of time for both business owners and customers.
- IVR ensures that the customer’s call goes to the right representative, thereby providing accurate and quick resolution to the customer for any type of problem they may have, thus saving customers time, and making them happy.
- The IVR system also saves a lot of money for a company, because of the work that many people do together, the IVR system automatically does it accurately.
- Many businesses that use IVR for lead conversion get accurate leads.
- IVR strengthens the relationship between the customer and a brand.
Some interesting things about IVR
- Today’s IVR systems have become very smart, and apart from call routing, they also do many tasks like verifying the user, answering the user’s short query, etc., which saves a lot of manpower.
- The IVR system is now also working with voice recognition, due to which it now records the voice samples of the users, ensuring that the correct information is given to the right user
IVR FAQs
What is IVR in customer service?
Interactive voice response is a software technology of telephony that is commonly found in call centres. The IVR software allows businesses to interact with their callers in real-time through a series of automated menus. These systems let customers self-serve for faster resolution of their queries.
What is IVR call flow?
The IVR call flow is like a path that the customer or user has to take which allows the user to be routed to the right department for support and solution of their queries.
Some other famous full forms of IVR
IVR Full Form: Immediate Value Returned
IVR Full Form: International Vehicle Register
