A traditional interactive voice response, or IVR for short, is simply a voice-based menu system used to route calls to the right person.

We’d be willing to be that (bar a change to any recordings, mentioning a sale or changes to opening hours), the actual workflow of your IVR hasn’t changed in the last 5 years – would we be right?

But after reading this blog, you’ll be chomping at the bit to perform a top-to-bottom revamp of your IVR experience because, believe it or not, the technology is experiencing a true revolution thanks to AI…

How are IVR’s evolving?

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are enabling IVRs to better understand your customers – and not just what they say, but how they’re saying it, too – as well as the ability to converse with your customers.

Combined, this has widespread implications for businesses where customer communication is key, positively impacting everything from analytics to headcount, bottom lines to customer satisfaction scores. Here’s how…

Hands-off resolution

AI agents can field basic enquiries and troubleshooting issues with no need to engage with a member of staff, saving them from monotonous queries day after day.

They could also reroute queries to other support channels, for example an FAQ on your website or product page. Alternatively, if the information provided by the caller flags the need to direct the call to a human, they could transfer the call immediately.

By taking interactions away from your team, you’re saving their time for more nuanced and complex conversations. You could even look to reduce headcount to increase operational agility or reskill team members to fulfil other roles within the business!

More efficient routing

As Large Language Models (LLMs) have advanced AI systems can better understand what callers are saying, reducing the number of ‘sorry, I didn’t quite catch that’ replies that instantly make caller’s blood boil.

They can also better understand a-typical responses, routing callers to the right team more frequently, and shortening the time callers spend on the phone to increase CSAT scores and the chances of them leaving a positive review, too!

Operational efficiency increases too, as interactions are resolved quicker, meaning your team members can do more in a day, leading to a significant boost in productivity across the board.  

Better customer understanding in-call

AI-powered IVRs can analyse not just the words your customers are using, but the tone, pace, and context of their speech in real time. This opens up a wealth of opportunities for tailoring the caller’s journey.

If frustration is detected, for example, the system could fast-track their call to a live agent or prioritise it in the queue. On the other hand, a calm tone might signal that the caller is enjoying the experience, prompting the AI to continue assisting without intervention.

Either way a conversation goes, the AI is further enhancing customer experience, optimising resource allocation, and creating a win-win for both your customers and your business.

Sentiment analysis

One of AI’s best features is its ability to ingest information, and find patterns that remain through it all, far quicker than a human ever could and at scale too!

For example, you could import all your customer conversations (whether historic or on an ongoing basis) for the AI platform to highlight particular pain points, keywords that lead to a positive resolution, or any other factor you want to look at in closer detail.  

Sentiment analysis has the potential to give stakeholders a unique insight into the entire operation – Are product issues causing negative interactions? Why are lines busier at certain times of the day? Why does this agent have a much better CSAT score than another? All of these could be answered in a matter of seconds by sentiment analysis.

However, AI solutions are incredibly complex to deploy, requiring a considered approach and integration process to ensure accuracy and prevent them going ‘off the rails’ when an unexpected prompt enters the system – that’s where Elisha Telecoms comes in.

We specialise in helping resellers and end-customer businesses seamlessly implement cutting-edge solutions like AI-powered IVR, tailored to their unique needs.

Our decades of expertise in writing AI algorithms and personalised approach to deployment ensures you can unlock the full potential of AI, reassured that it’s deployed reliably for maximum impact and no nasty surprises once it goes live.

No matter your industry, businesses are not only upgrading their technology, but they’re also reimagining the way they engage with their customers through IVRs. And if you leave it too late, you’ll lose this opportunity to get ahead and differentiate your business from those competitors.

Find out how Elisha Telecom can help you usher in a new era of customer communication, blending efficiency with a personalised touch by calling our expert team on 020 7100 1114 to take the first next step in revolutionising your customer experience.