What is IVR?

The definition of interactive voice response (IVR) describes technology that enables humans to interact with computers using their voices or by using DTMF tones inputted through a phone’s keypad. IVR systems are typically used to reduce costs and improve customer experiences in high volume call centers. IVR systems give customers the ability to provide businesses with critical data, route themselves to the most qualified sales rep, and handle simple tasks themselves (such as making a credit card payment) without taking time away from human reps. This reduces the amount of reps needed to provide service, while freeing human reps to solve more involved customer problems. While IVR systems are frequently used in large enterprise sales organizations, even smaller businesses have found value in IVR technology, since it enables them to appear to be larger than they actually are.