No more SVI, make way for Bots!

Natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) can help customers navigate IVR streams and complete simple tasks with minimal human intervention.

Alex Black, Enghouse Global CTOobserved that people are increasingly making mobile devices their primary means of communication.

Traditional IVR queues are not easy to navigate on mobile. Your keyboard is right next to your ear as you listen to instructions. Touchscreens are not easy to use in cold weather when wearing gloves.

If a touchscreen is part of a common device, such as an ATM, users may be reluctant to touch it to avoid spreading infection.

A bot with NLP-based programming, like Amazon Lex, can replace IVR. You can program Lex with different “intents”. These are sets of phrases to indicate which queue a customer wants. The system will ask the customer “How can I help you?”, then, after hearing their response, route them to the correct queue.

Although the bot was programmed with certain phrases, NLP programming can identify variants of this language with a similar meaning, and still direct the customer to the correct queue.

This will save the customer time and reduce the effort they need to use your service.