Interactive voice response (IVR, or audiotext) and automated attendant systems

Interactive voice response (IVR), also called audiotext or voice menus, is an information system whereby callers can interact with spoken menus by entering touch-tones to select the information they want, which is then spoken to them.  IVR systems are in use at banks, public agencies, car dealerships – almost any enterprise that must deliver answers to frequently asked questions.  A variant of IVR is fax-back service, where the selected information is faxed to the caller instead of spoken, for longer or graphic-rich content.

Automated attendant (auto-attendant) systems direct the incoming call to the proper staff by offering the caller a spoken menu of departments, also responded to by touch-tone.

Both of these types, but especially IVR, include database integration features.  Database integration allows the system to deliver current and customized information, such as weather, stock quotes, or the status of a car repair.

Both of these systems are typically CPE located at the business or other organization, either standalone or part of a PBX.  A basic computer equipped with a voice modem can serve as a simple system covering a single telephone line.  At the other extreme are complex systems covering thousands of lines, with their own administrative interfaces and database integration.

The IVR market consists of:

People who are blind or have low vision commented that they appreciate the availability of these systems.  They had no difficulty using them and found them preferable to any printed medium.  IVR is especially useful to those with visual impairments who do not have access to computers.

One difficulty with these systems is that, just like voice mail, they are entirely speech based.  TTY users are not able to receive the prompts in a usable form, since they are spoken.  They cannot respond from their TTY keyboards, since the replies must be touch-tones, not Baudot characters.  Users who have their TTYs and touch-tone phones connected in parallel to the same line commented that the touch-tones are often not "loud" enough to be recognized by the IVR system at the other end.  This may be a result of the TTY load on the line.

TTY users may be able to interact with IVRs through the relay service.  However, relay operators have difficulty typing the entire text of a voice menu and getting a response from the TTY user without timing out.  These calls may require preliminary setting up, wherein the TTY user tells the relay operator exactly what to enter for each menu.  Sometimes several calls must be placed to complete the transaction.  Some state TRSs do not allow access to IVR systems.

Some proprietary solutions exist to serve TTY callers by branching them off from voice callers at the first prompt, or by offering TTY callers a separate telephone number.  TTY callers then receive prompts in the same menu structure, but in Baudot.

People who are hard of hearing stated that they often could not understand the messages or prompts on IVR systems, and that they had no way of repeating the current message.

A hard of hearing user:

“Voice mail or any kind of recording with multiple options is difficult for me to understand.”

This same problem may occur for people with some cognitive impairments.

People who have difficulty pressing touch-tones may not be able to do so quickly enough, as most of these systems have timeouts.

Many of these systems now offer limited speech recognition.  Callers may be able to speak the name of a department instead of press a key, or they may be able to say the digit instead of press it.  This alleviates the difficulty that some people with mobility impairments may face.  However, these recognizers often perform less well through a speakerphone, which are used by many people who have difficulty holding a handset.  Additionally, recognizers often fail for people with speech impairments.