IVA vs. IVR: What's the difference, and which one should you use?
Intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs) and interactive voice responses (IVRs) are virtual, automated alternatives to human agents that improve customer service and reduce wait times. Also, services are significantly more affordable than hiring more agents and providing round-the-clock customer help while simultaneously managing support issues and other requests. For this reason, many organizations employ IVA and IVR, even though picking one is a complex problem for businesses of all sizes. This comparison of IVR and IVA should prove helpful if you decide which technology to implement to maximize efficiency, reduce customer wait times, and enhance self-service options.
So, what exactly is an IVR (Interactive Voice Response)?
An IVR automates VoIP menu navigation by routing callers to the best available agent based on their responses to pre-recorded voice prompts and questions.
IVR uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand and respond to requests. Callers can answer these questions by speaking directly into their phones.
To route calls to the correct department, an IVR can read instructions like "To speak to one of our agents, say 'representative.'" IVRs may also feature basic self-service prompts such as "Please say your account number to check your balance." The goal here is to direct callers to the appropriate department or representative without engaging a real-life receptionist in the process.
Words and phrases like "sales" or "accounting department" are recognized as "triggers" by natural language processing, which then directs calls to the appropriate departments.
IVRs are more convenient than older DTMF features, which require callers to interact via touch tones, reducing the number of call transfers.
This improves call queues and frees agents to focus on solving tickets and other requests instead of manually managing calls.
For your IVR to be as error-free as possible, you should use a wide selection of trigger words and phrases.
Thankfully, some IVRs come equipped with editors that allow users to drag and drop components, which makes the programming process much more straightforward.
So, tell me, what exactly is an IVA (Intelligent Virtual Assistant)?
IVAs, or Intelligent Virtual Assistants, are driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and are used to automate consumer self-service and other corporate processes by analyzing client input and providing relevant responses.
IVAs, are based mainly on client data points, such as customer relationship management (CRM) data and order history, to provide more tailored and in-depth help.
Modern IVAs are better equipped to understand accents or slang than IVR technology because they are multilingual and prioritize having a "dialogue" between the caller and the virtual assistant.
Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, and Google's Assistant are three of the more well-known conversational AI IVA solutions.
Although IVAs have been known to make spectacular misinterpretations, their machine-learning foundation allows them to increase response accuracy as they amass a library of past talks.
IVAs are frequently used in contact centers to minimize average response time and boost first-call resolution rates. Chatbot messaging systems are widely used in conjunction with IVA to give automated help to customers.
Critical Differences Between IVA and IVR
IVA is similar to an enhanced form of ordinary IVR. The table below summarizes the key distinctions between IVA and IVR.
IVAs (Intelligent Virtual Assistant)
Offer consumer self-service resolutions without involving a live agent as the final objective.
Uses customer relationship management system integration and historical data analysis to give in-depth help
Can handle advanced client requests and difficult support tickets
Combating fraud with tools like voice biometrics
IVRs (Interactive Voice Response)
The Ultimate Aim of IVR is to Direct Callers to the Appropriate Live Agent.
Depends heavily on the listener's participation and responses to a pre-recorded voice prompt
Weak in responding to customers' questions and tickets
Protection against unwanted callers (on specific platforms)
Compared to IVR systems, IVA provides superior speech recognition and a considerably higher degree of task and call center automation. It's designed to assist callers in avoiding tedious menus, enabling call centers to provide a far more personalized experience with automated systems.
In addition, it leverages machine learning to become "smarter" over time, enhancing call flows and outcomes without as much manual setting from administrators.
IVAs handle routine activities and frequently requested queries, freeing human agents to concentrate on difficult tickets requiring one-on-one attention.
IVA, much like IVR, provides service to customers around the clock, all year round.
However, unlike IVR, IVA can handle complicated issues and extensive conversations without connecting callers with a human agent. Even if the IVA system can't address all client issues, it can gather critical information and build a detailed support ticket to speed up customer care.
Voice biometrics can validate a caller's identity using IVAs' powerful speech recognition technology. This enables phone access to account information without unscrupulous callers attempting to phish for important information.
IVA's Top Attributes
Several IVA characteristics could benefit your organization, but for the sake of simplicity, let's focus on the five most notable ones.
Linguistic Processing in Multiple Languages
By utilizing speech recognition and NLU (Natural Language Understanding) algorithms, IVAs can understand input in over a hundred languages. Because of this, you can reach customers worldwide without spending extra money on translators or staff.
Account Validation
Previously, we saw how IVAs can use callers' voices as a biometric identifier. This is useful in a security breach, such as unauthorized login attempts or other questionable account behavior.
Analysis of Sentiment
In contrast to interactive voice response systems (IVRs), which can merely evaluate the caller's input, IVAs can pick up on emotional cues from the customer's tone of voice. As soon as it senses the customer's frustration level rising, the call is transferred to someone who can help cool things down.
Smart callback
IVA's intelligent, automated callback feature will be handy if your business has problems with long lines and wait times.
To avoid keeping clients on hold, the virtual agent can offer a callback service and wait in line until a human agent is free to take their call.
Compliance and Safety
IVAs provide PCI and HIPAA-compliant services, allowing them to receive and store sensitive information such as financial and medical records.
Due to the non-human nature of virtual assistants, privacy and security concerns are significantly reduced. Some clients will feel far more at ease discussing financial and health-related matters with automated assistance. Furthermore, IVAs do not keep critical information.
The Advantages of IVA Vs. IVR
Choosing the proper path, like any other business decision, boils down to evaluating each option's benefits and determining which is the best fit for your organization. Three advantages of IVAs over IVRs are listed below.
Increased customer satisfaction
IVAs give customers a lot of ways to help themselves and make the whole process of getting help smoother.
These solutions interact with CRM technologies to allow agents to take notes on discussions and collect important caller information before they accept the call. This improves first-call resolution rates and reduces the frustration of clients who have to explain their issues repeatedly to different agents.
In addition, its sentiment analysis function transfers callers to an agent at the first sign of annoyance - not to mention that your customers will be able to request callbacks! IVAs, on the whole, have shown to be significantly more effective than IVR systems in terms of increasing the degree to which customers are satisfied.
Reduced Agent Turnover
IVRs don't minimize agent workload; they only deliver clients to the proper person the first time, reducing call transfers.
In contrast, IVAs can process basic requests independently, freeing up your team from the tedium of responding to similar tickets repeatedly. Since IVAs make routine tasks more accessible, they also tend to reduce agent turnover.
Knowledge bases and the ability to see client data before the call are other aspects that improve employee job experience.
Lower Call Abandonment Rates
IVAs reduce call abandonment rates since customers may voice problems instantly and avoid waiting on hold. There is only so much that an IVR can do to keep clients from hanging up on you before you can connect them to an agent.
How and When to Use Interactive Voice Response
An IVR system may be required to automate your contact center if your primary concerns are improving call flow and decreasing agent stress.
Automatic call forwarding, call transferring, and answering frequently asked questions are just a few of how IVRs cut down on operational expenses. As a result, we won't have to look elsewhere to fill this role.
In addition to increasing efficiency and competitive pricing, some businesses use an IVR system to boost their perceived authority while communicating with clients. The impression of calling a vast, well-established business can be enhanced by using an automated menu to greet callers.
IVRs are preferable to DTMF menus for routine jobs and common scenarios because they are more efficient and user-friendly.
Why and When to Use IVA
When comparing IVA to IVR, most businesses will benefit from integrating IVA into their call flow.
IVAs are vital for businesses that only operate Monday through Friday but would like to ensure that clients may still speak with someone during vacations, weekends, and after-hours. After all, hiring agencies to handle after-hours support can be costly, and there's a greater chance that the staff will provide incorrect information.
IVA is a cheaper alternative for contact centers with high call volumes that wish to minimize agent burden without hiring more staff. It doesn't take time to train and manage live agents.
IVAs can be used as a stopgap to handle routine requests while you build up your staff in either scenario.
The question is whether or not you should switch from IVR to IVA.
The decision comes down to answering a few questions about how well your current system works.
Consider the following:
Are there a lot of calls that don't get answered?
Are your wait times consistently long?
Are agents expressing concerns about being fatigued?
Is there a significant turnover?
Are you having trouble meeting your KPIs and metrics for customer service?
Does your IVR system cause more problems than it solves?
The digital transition to an IVA should be seriously considered if you responded yes to any of the above questions. Investing time and money into keeping up with technological developments can be challenging. Still, it will pay off in the end.
Start Building Your Interactive Communication Platform with TeleSwitch
TeleSwitch Portfolio provides industry-leading solutions that will provide your organization with all of the interactive features it requires, including the ability to provide customers with intelligent tools to help them be served faster and without complications. Take the first step to building a profitable interactive communication platform for your business – schedule your FREE Consultation today.
TeleSwitch partners with CCaaS leading providers, offering unparalleled leading contact center solutions that are easy to adopt and simple to use, allowing your agents to connect and communicate with your clients while having a successful digital transformation of your business.
