IVR System Integrating AI and Human Agents
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Solution Overview
Problem
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems often fail to accurately discern the purpose or goal of callers, leading to inefficient handling and prolonged human agent involvement, as they lack effective integration of human and machine responses.
Innovation Solution
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning within IVR systems to process voice inputs, track conversation length and decibel levels, and automatically transfer callers to human agents when necessary, allowing for the provision of machine-generated responses and subsequent re-transfer to AI for efficient call management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the IVR system transfers the caller to a human agent when it cannot accurately discern the purpose or goal, then the caller can receive personalized attention, but the human agent must exclusively attend to the caller without automated assistance, increasing involvement time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system where the IVR system continues to act as a mediator between the caller and human agent. The human agent receives automated responses from the IVR system and can transfer the caller back to the IVR system, allowing the IVR system to handle follow-up questions and tasks without requiring continuous human involvement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the call handling process into distinct phases: initial automated handling by IVR, selective human intervention when needed, and potential return to automated handling. This segmentation allows the human agent to be involved only for specific portions of the call rather than the entire interaction.
2Productivity
If the human agent provides the correct response to the IVR system, then the efficiency and speed of the IVR system improve, but the human agent's involvement time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the IVR system provides automated responses to the human agent during the call. The human agent can evaluate these responses and transfer the caller back to the IVR system if the automated response is appropriate, creating a feedback loop that improves IVR efficiency while minimizing human involvement time.
3Speed
If the IVR system uses automated responses to handle caller requests, then the speed of response improves, but the system may not accurately discern complex caller purposes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the system dynamic by allowing flexible switching between automated and human handling modes. The system can adapt its behavior based on the complexity of the caller's request, transferring to human agents when complex purposes are detected and returning to automated handling for simpler, routine tasks.
Data Source
AI summary
When a caller initiates a conversation with an interactive voice response (“IVR”) system, the caller may be transferred to a live agent. Apparatus and methods are provided for integrating automated tools and artificial intelligence (“AI”) into the interaction with the IVR system. The automated tools and AI may track the conversation to decipher when to transfer the caller to the agent. The agent may determine which machine generated responses are appropriate for the caller. AI may be leveraged to suggest responses for both caller and agent while they are interacting with each other. The agent may transfer back the caller to the IVR system along with the appropriate machine generated response to maintain efficiency and shorten time of human agent interaction.