Voice portals

Intelligent IVR systems are made up of several components. The key component is the voice recognition module, which in modern systems is often capable of interpreting voice input accurately based on grammar rules and semantics. Directly linked to the voice recognition module are dialogue flow interpreters, which convert the voice input into computer commands. Text-to-speech synthesis systems are available for generating voice portal output. These convert texts into spoken information with the help of computer-generated voices. In the background, an application with the necessary computer logic ensures integration of the data and processes in the voice portal.

Voice portals facilitate very natural, direct communication with computer systems without the need to input data manually or look at the screen. The time-consuming exercise of familiarising oneself with the user interface or cryptic commands can be avoided. Another advantage is the fact that the user’s device only needs to be low spec. In general, a conventional telephone without any additional functions is sufficient. Moreover, voice portals can be set up in such a way that they are multilingual and understand different user languages.

Voice portals are often used in call centres for answering calls from a central office and pre-classifying queries from callers. In large companies, the central fault hotline is also often equipped with a voice portal. Voice portals permit callers’ queries to be specified more precisely, for example, and then allocated to a suitable member of staff for handling. With the help of Yes/No answers, the caller is navigated through a clearly structured option menu.