From Scripted IVR to Generative Voice: How AI is Transforming Business Telephony

With most customers calling businesses upon finding them online, voice-enabled support and service continue to be a top priority for modern businesses. But voice and telephony platforms have become much more capable or sophisticated, thanks to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its many use cases.

But AI’s capabilities in the world of business telephony are far from being limited to automated calls and support. In fact, when leveraged right, various AI use cases such as generative voice AI and scripted IVR can help you boost customer satisfaction and engagement levels, while making your overall support processes more efficient.

9 Powerful Ways AI is Transforming Business Telephony

1. Conversational Call Handling

Did you know that conversational AI, when used right, can increase your call satisfaction scores by 30%? 

Modern-day AI-driven telephony platforms are equipped to understand natural language, allowing customers to communicate their needs and preferences more freely. As a result, customers can get immediate assistance for their queries.

Such telephony platforms tend to perform better than those based on rigid IVR trees, with AI-powered scripts helping companies reduce customer frustration and feelings of abandonment. When using AI-generated scripts, consider enhancing them with Humanize AI, an AI SaaS platform that specializes in converting AI-generated content into human-like content. This makes it sound more empathetic, which can drive more engagement and satisfaction among customers.

2. Debt Collection and Payment Reminders

If you thought voicebots are only good for query resolution and effective customer support, think again. By using voicebots effectively, you can also automate debt recovery by streamlining the steps involved in the process. You can enable AI-powered voice bots to call customers and remind them about payments and even negotiate plans and prices in sales processes. 

Such tools are becoming especially relevant as companies reevaluate their sales and billing operations in light of Salesforce CPQ end of life. With many organizations seeking more flexible, AI-driven alternatives, voicebots and intelligent IVR systems are emerging as effective ways to automate payment reminders and collections, streamlining revenue processes while enhancing the customer experience.

3. Personalized Caller Experience

AI-based telephony systems and platforms are becoming more personalized than ever, with the ability to recognize keywords and tailor query responses based on the caller's history. As a result, companies can design and deliver experiences that feel distinctly human. 

Did you know that AI-powered voicebots can resolve over 60% of your inquiries or queries by providing highly tailored and personalized solutions?

Moreover, consumers who steer clear of AI or applications powered by the technology are also more comfortable with its usage if it means getting access to more personalized experiences.

4. Instant, Accurate Lead Capture

When utilized properly, your AI agents and chatbots can help you collect details of the caller, transcribe your conversations, and even help you log actionable data directly into your CRM software. As a result, you can capture leads effectively, without having to deal with manual data entry.

With an effective lead capture process, you can ensure that no opportunity slips through the cracks and your response times are short and efficient. Furthermore, with shorter response times, you can also maximize your conversion rates. For example, your sales team can effectively leverage AI-powered call capture tools and applications to streamline lead acquisition.

5. Seamless CRM & Calendar Integration

One of the best things about AI-powered applications is that they can seamlessly integrate with your business tools. When used to their fullest potential, AI-powered telephony platforms allow customers to schedule appointments in real time and update the customer databases at the same time. As a result, your systems can book appointments and hand off tasks and activities to human staff wherever needed.

6. Effortless Scalability

AI phone agents not only maximize the customer service capabilities of your company, but also are an addition to your traditional toolkit for communication. AI phone agents are capable of handling many more customers and queries than any human agent, and even juggle simultaneous calls without hiring additional resources.

As your business grows or experiences unpredictable surges in customer queries, AI-powered phone agents can help you enhance the scalability and flexibility of your customer support processes and delivery. No wonder, over 79% of executives and companies report implementing AI agents in their processes and workflows.

7. Advanced Analytics & Insights

AI-powered dashboards are not only more interactive and comprehensive but also provide real-time insights into response times, call volumes, caller sentiment, and automation rates. These advanced analytics can help businesses empower managers to improve the training of the agents, optimize the overall call workflows, and spot emerging trends promptly.

If these benefits do not convince you, how about the fact that companies that have implemented advanced AI-powered analytics can cut their response times by 35% and consequently boost their user satisfaction levels by 30%.

8. Small Call Routing & Escalations

One of the biggest use cases of AI in telephony platforms is small call routing. However, it all starts from the fact that AI can perfectly understand the context of conversations that happen during calls and redirect queries to relevant departments or experts for resolution.

As a result, complicated issues either get routed to the individual best suited to resolve them, or escalate to higher-level executives — all of them humans  — along with complete conversation transcripts for easy understanding. As a result, you can reduce call transfers and manage queries better with prompt resolutions, leading to higher customer satisfaction levels.

9. Data Security & Compliance

As businesses grow, so does their risk exposure and their vulnerability to data privacy issues and concerns. To safeguard their business against such threats and ensure continuity, you must invest in robust protection measures by utilizing AI-powered applications such as AI agents and conversational AI tools.

Today’s telephony platforms, especially those powered by the latest technologies like AI, feature advanced security measures such as encryption in communication, secure integrations, and stringent privacy controls. As more companies continue to adopt AI to manage their customer support processes, security is not only a top priority but also a pivotal factor of consideration, especially in industries like finance and healthcare.

Concluding Remarks

By integrating AI into your telephony processes, you can elevate your typical business phone experience from a simple support channel to a proactive, data-driven one. AI-powered tools and applications also help you turn your customer support efficiency into a personalized asset and embrace emerging technologies to perform better than traditional processes. As AI and AI-powered use cases, such as cloud telephony, continue to evolve, you can use these modernized channels for delivering better efficiency and customer support.