IVR Systems

What is an IVR system? “IVR” stands for interactive voice response, a technology which allows automated phone operators to work. Most customers are all too familiar with IVR systems--generally, public opinion of these systems is pretty low. However, imagine the chaos and frustrations we would all experience were these systems not in place to handle customer traffic overflow.

Over the years, technicians and behavioral psychologists have toyed with IVR systems to make them more customer friendly. Innovations include the use of hold music to calm anxious customers down, friendly female voices to soothe anxiety, and human sounding respondents to increase empathetic feelings. On the surface, these techniques may seem manipulative and almost Orwellian.

Understanding IVR Systems

However, statistics showed that, simply by aping the behaviors of courtesy and respect, IVR systems can legitimately impact customer responses for the better. On the downside, many corporations use IVR systems to pacify irate customers and prevent them from taking their claims to representatives. On the upside, companies utilize IVR to expedite requests and get more business done faster.

The future of IVR systems is uncertain. Will artificial intelligence and voice recognition programs be able to take over the tasks and responsibilities of full fledged human employees? According to more and more artificial intelligence experts, the answer is a surprising no. While IVR systems are good at recognizing basic speech patterns, they are generally poor when it comes to recognizing unique or spontaneous verbal commands.