How does an IVR work?
A call arrives on a phone number connected to the IVR. The system plays a prompt, then listens for speech or for keypad tones, the dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals defined for push-button phones in ITU-T Recommendation Q.23. Based on the answer, it reads out information, collects details such as an account number, hands the caller to a payment or booking system, or routes the call to the right queue of staff.
For example, a caller to a bank might say “card payments”, enter the last four digits of their card on the keypad and be routed to the right team.
W3C’s VoiceXML standard, published in 2004, was written to bring web development methods to IVR applications, and describes dialogues that combine synthesised speech, recorded audio, speech and keypad input, and telephony. A conversational IVR adds natural language understanding, so callers can describe the problem in their own words instead of working through a menu, and some now put an AI voice agent at the front of the call.
How is an IVR different from a website voice agent?
An IVR lives on a phone line: callers dial a number and the system decides where the call goes. A website voice agent lives on a web page: visitors click a button, allow the microphone and talk to an AI in the browser, with no number to dial.
An IVR is mainly for routing calls and phone self-service, while a website voice agent answers questions people have while they’re on your site.
Is Kawl Now an IVR?
No. Kawl Now has no phone number for customers to call and doesn’t answer phone calls, so there are no menus to press through. Visitors talk to an AI agent in their browser on your website, and it answers product questions from knowledge your team has approved.
It doesn’t route conversations to queues. When the approved knowledge doesn’t answer a question, the agent is told to say it doesn’t know and point the caller to your website’s usual contact options, or to offer a person if you’ve turned on handover. Handover is an early release: your team verifies a UK or US phone number and turns handover on for the support or sales agent, and whoever answers hears a private briefing first. Customer routing is still being tested, so keep your usual contact options.
If your customers phone you, keep your IVR or phone system for that line, and use a website voice agent for people already on your site.
Common questions
What does IVR stand for?
IVR stands for interactive voice response: an automated phone system that plays prompts and responds to callers’ key presses or speech, usually to route the call or answer simple requests.
What is the difference between an IVR and an AI voice agent?
A traditional IVR follows a fixed menu and reacts to key presses or set phrases. An AI voice agent holds an open conversation and answers questions in its own words. Many AI voice agents run on phone lines, which is why the terms overlap. Kawl Now’s agent runs only in the browser on your website.