Voice AI glossary
The vocabulary of contact centre automation, defined plainly. Each entry links to the full explainer.
- IVR
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Interactive Voice Response is the automated phone menu that asks callers to press a number or say a keyword before reaching a department. It routes on menu choice rather than on what the caller actually wants, which is why long menus and misroutes are its familiar failure modes.
Read the full explainer - Voicebot
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A voicebot answers calls and handles a narrow set of scripted tasks, usually one intent at a time. It is the generation before conversational voice AI, and it tends to break down as soon as a real call goes off-script.
Read the full explainer - AI Voice Agent
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An AI Voice Agent answers inbound calls in natural language, works out why someone is calling, and resolves or routes the call with that context attached. Unlike a voicebot it handles multi-step conversations rather than single scripted intents.
Read the full explainer - AI receptionist
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An AI receptionist answers, screens and routes incoming business calls around the clock. It is the front-desk use case for voice AI: greeting callers, taking details, and passing the call to the right person.
Read the full explainer - CCaaS
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Contact Center as a Service is cloud-delivered contact centre software: telephony, routing, queueing and reporting, bought as a subscription instead of run on-premise. It is the platform layer a voice agent integrates with, not a replacement for one.
Read the full explainer - Cost per contact
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Cost per contact is total operating cost divided by total contacts handled. It is the standard unit for comparing channels, because it exposes what an assisted call really costs next to a self-service one.
Read the full explainer - Intelligent call routing
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Intelligent call routing uses the caller's stated intent to decide where a call goes, instead of a menu press. Because the intent travels with the call, whoever picks up starts with context rather than asking the caller to repeat themselves.
Read the full explainer - Call centre burnout
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Call centre burnout is sustained exhaustion among contact centre staff, driven by high volume, repetitive work and little control over the day. It surfaces as attrition and absence, both of which push cost per contact up.
Read the full explainer - Good customer service
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Good customer service means resolving a request quickly, consistently, and without making the customer explain themselves twice. It is the outcome every channel is measured against, automated or not.
Read the full explainer