Technologies Used
DTMF decoding and speech recognition are used to interpret the caller's response to voice prompts. DTMF tones are entered via the telephone keypad.
Two main varieties of speech recognition are used in IVR: that based upon predefined grammars (used in "directed" dialogues), and that based on statistically trained language models (used in "natural language" dialogues). Directed dialogues prompt the caller with specific questions or options. Natural language dialogues employ open questions (e.g. "How can I help you?"), are more conversational, and can interpret free-form responses.
Other technologies include using Text-To-Speech (TTS) to speak complex and dynamic information, such as e-mails, news reports or weather information. TTS is computer generated synthesized speech that is no longer the robotic voice traditionally associated with computers. Real voices create the speech in fragments that are spliced together (concatenated) and smoothed before being played to the caller.
An IVR can be deployed in several different ways:
- Equipment installed on the customer premises
- Equipment installed in the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)
- Application service provider (ASP) / Hosted IVR
IVR can be used to provide a more sophisticated voice mail experience to the caller. For example, the IVR could ask if the caller wishes to hear, edit, forward or remove a message.
An automatic call distributor (ACD) is often the first point of contact when calling many larger businesses. An ACD uses digital storage devices to play greetings or announcements, but typically routes a caller without prompting for input. An IVR can play announcements and request an input from the caller. This information can be used to profile the caller and route the call to an agent with a particular skill set. (A skill set is a function applied to a group of call-center agents with a particular skill.)
Interactive voice response can be used to front-end a call center operation by identifying the needs of the caller. Information can be obtained from the caller such as an account number. Answers to simple questions such as account balances or pre-recorded information can be provided without operator intervention. Account numbers from the IVR are often compared to caller ID data for security reasons and additional IVR responses are required if the caller ID does not match the account record.
IVR call flows are created in a variety of ways. A traditional IVR depended upon proprietary programming or scripting languages, whereas modern IVR applications are generated in a similar way to Web pages, using standards such as VoiceXML, CCXML, SRGS and SSML. The ability to use XML-driven applications allows a Web server to act as the application server, freeing the IVR developer to focus on the call flow. It was widely believed that developers would no longer require specialized programming skills; however, this has been proven to be misguided as IVR applications need to understand the human reaction to the application dialog.
Higher level IVR development tools are available to further simplify the application development process. A call flow diagram can be drawn with a GUI tool and the presentation layer (typically VoiceXML) can be automatically generated. In addition, these tools normally provide extension mechanisms for software integration, such as an HTTP interface to a Web site and a Java interface for connecting to a database.
In telecommunications, an audio response unit (ARU) is a device that provides synthesized voice responses to DTMF keypresses by processing calls based on (a) the call-originator input, (b) information received from a database, and (c) information in the incoming call, such as the time of day.
ARUs increase the number of information calls handled and provide consistent quality in information retrieval.
Read more about this topic: Interactive Voice Response