What is Interactive Voice Response?
Definition of Interactive Voice Response [IVR]:
Interactive Voice Response [IVR] is the telephony technology that allows an automated system to interact with callers and helps route calls to relevant recipients, via voice commands or touch-tone key selection.
IVR and other forms of telephone self-service have been in operation in business since the 1970s, and have occasionally been derided for their impersonal and often disjointed customer experience. Michael Maoz, research vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research once said, “IVR ranks with taxation as one of the most disliked features ever created”, yet the reality is that IVR, done well, can be both cost-saving for a business and time-efficient for its callers.
Abbreviations: IVR, VRU (voice response unit)
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