Glossary
A comprehensive glossary of voice AI, telephony, and call automation terminology.
- Action Execution Action execution is the process by which an AI voice agent performs tasks during or after a conversation.
- Action Safety Action safety refers to the safeguards that prevent AI voice agents from taking harmful, unauthorized, or irreversible actions.
- Agent Configuration Agent configuration is the process of defining how an AI voice agent behaves, responds, and integrates with external systems.
- Agent Escalation Agent escalation is the process of transferring a conversation from an AI voice agent to a human representative.
- AI Agent Training AI agent training is the process of teaching voice agents how to understand requests and handle conversations effectively.
- AI Call Disclosure AI call disclosure is the practice of informing callers that they are speaking with an AI system rather than a human.
- AI Call Routing AI call routing uses artificial intelligence to direct incoming calls to the most appropriate destination.
- AI Dialer An AI dialer is an automated system that places outbound calls and connects them to an AI voice agent.
- AI Intent Detection AI intent detection is the capability of understanding what a caller wants to accomplish from their spoken words.
- AI Model Fine-Tuning AI model fine-tuning is the process of further training a language model on domain-specific data.
- AI Phone Agent An AI phone agent is an artificial intelligence system designed to handle telephone conversations autonomously.
- AI Voice Agent An AI voice agent is an AI system that conducts natural spoken conversations and takes actions to complete tasks.
- API Integration API integration connects an AI voice agent to external software systems for real-time data and actions.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Artificial intelligence is the field focused on creating systems that perform tasks requiring human intelligence.
- Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) Automatic call distribution routes incoming calls to available agents based on predefined rules.
- Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) Automatic speech recognition is the technology that converts spoken language into text.
- Barge-In Barge-in is the capability that allows callers to interrupt an AI voice agent while it is speaking.
- Branded Caller ID Branded caller ID displays a business name on the recipient's phone screen, increasing answer rates for outbound calls.
- Call Analytics Call analytics is the collection and analysis of data from voice conversations to measure performance and identify patterns.
- Call Center Automation Call center automation uses technology to handle customer interactions that would traditionally require human agents.
- Call Deflection Call deflection is the practice of resolving customer inquiries through automated channels instead of human agents.
- Call Flow Call flow is the designed sequence of steps and decision points that guide a conversation from start to resolution.
- Call Logging Call logging is the systematic recording of call metadata, events, and outcomes for operational and compliance purposes.
- Call Orchestration Call orchestration is the coordination of multiple systems and processes during a voice interaction.
- Call Quality Monitoring Call quality monitoring evaluates technical and experiential quality of voice interactions.
- Call Recording Call recording captures audio from voice conversations for quality assurance, training, and compliance purposes.
- Call Summary A call summary is an automatically generated synopsis of a voice conversation highlighting key information and outcomes.
- Call Transcription Call transcription converts spoken conversation audio into written text for analysis and record-keeping.
- Call Transfer Call transfer moves an active conversation from one destination to another while maintaining the connection.
- Callback A callback is an outbound call initiated to return a customer's previous contact attempt or fulfill a scheduled request.
- Caller ID Caller ID is the telephone feature that displays the calling party's phone number and name to the recipient.
- Compliance Compliance in voice AI refers to adherence to legal requirements and regulations governing calls and data handling.
- Concurrency Concurrency is the ability of a system to handle multiple calls simultaneously without performance degradation.
- Confidence Score A confidence score indicates how certain an AI system is about its speech recognition or intent interpretation.
- Consent Capture Consent capture is the process of obtaining and documenting a caller's agreement during a voice conversation.
- Context Window A context window is the maximum amount of text a language model can process at once during a conversation.
- Conversation Design Conversation design crafts how AI voice agents interact with callers for natural, effective experiences.
- Conversation State Conversation state is the information tracked throughout a dialogue to maintain context and enable coherent exchanges.
- Conversational AI Conversational AI is the technology that enables machines to engage in natural, human-like dialogue.
- CRM Integration CRM integration connects an AI voice agent to customer relationship management systems for context and data access.
- Data Retention Data retention refers to policies governing how long call recordings and transcripts are stored before deletion.
- Dialogue Management Dialogue management controls conversation flow, deciding what the system should do or say next.
- DTMF DTMF is the signaling system that generates tones when phone keypad buttons are pressed for input.
- Embeddings Embeddings are numerical representations of text that capture semantic meaning for AI processing.
- End-of-Turn Detection End-of-turn detection determines when a speaker has finished and conversation should switch to the other party.
- Entity Extraction Entity extraction identifies and captures specific pieces of information like names, dates, and numbers from speech.
- Error Recovery Error recovery is the AI agent's ability to handle misunderstandings and failed actions gracefully.
- Fallback Response A fallback response is what an AI agent says when it cannot understand a request or does not know how to proceed.
- First Call Resolution First call resolution measures the percentage of calls where the issue is completely resolved without follow-up.
- Function Calling Function calling enables language models to invoke external tools and APIs to take real actions.
- GDPR GDPR is the EU regulation governing collection, processing, and storage of personal data.
- Greeting The greeting is the opening statement an AI voice agent delivers when starting a call interaction.
- Hallucination Hallucination is when an AI generates plausible-sounding but factually incorrect or fabricated information.
- HIPAA HIPAA is U.S. legislation establishing requirements for protecting sensitive patient health information.
- Hold Time Hold time is the duration callers spend waiting before being answered or while on hold during a call.
- Idempotency Idempotency ensures that performing an operation multiple times produces the same result as performing it once.
- In-Call Actions In-call actions are operations executed during a conversation with results immediately available.
- Intent Intent represents the purpose or goal behind a caller's utterance that determines how the AI responds.
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Interactive Voice Response is telephony technology that allows callers to interact through voice or keypad inputs.
- Knowledge Base A knowledge base is a structured repository of information an AI voice agent can search during conversations.
- Knowledge Retrieval Knowledge retrieval is searching and extracting relevant information from sources to inform AI responses.
- Language Model A language model is an AI system trained to understand and generate human language for conversations.
- Large Language Model (LLM) A large language model is an AI system with billions of parameters for understanding and generating language.
- Latency Latency is the time delay between when a caller finishes speaking and when the AI begins responding.
- Lead Qualification Lead qualification is evaluating potential customers to determine their fit and readiness to purchase.
- Machine Learning Machine learning is the field of AI where systems improve through experience rather than explicit programming.
- Multi-Turn Conversation A multi-turn conversation involves multiple exchanges building on previous context throughout an interaction.
- Multilingual Support Multilingual support enables AI voice agents to conduct conversations in multiple languages.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) Natural language processing enables computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language.
- Natural Language Understanding (NLU) Natural language understanding comprehends the meaning and intent behind human language input.
- Noise Handling Noise handling enables speech recognition to function accurately despite background sounds and interference.
- Outbound Calling Outbound calling is when the AI voice agent initiates calls to customers for proactive communication.
- PCI Compliance PCI compliance refers to adherence to security standards for organizations handling credit card information.
- Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Personally identifiable information is data that can identify a specific individual requiring careful protection.
- Post-Call Actions Post-call actions are automated tasks executed after a conversation ends to complete customer journeys.
- Prompt Engineering Prompt engineering is crafting instructions that guide language model behavior for specific use cases.
- PSTN PSTN is the traditional telephone infrastructure connecting landlines and mobile phones worldwide.
- Rate Limiting Rate limiting controls how frequently actions can be performed to prevent abuse and manage resources.
- Real-Time Processing Real-time processing handles data and executes operations as they occur without significant delay.
- Response Generation Response generation creates the AI agent's spoken reply based on context, input, and retrieved information.
- Retry Logic Retry logic automatically attempts operations again when they fail due to transient errors.
- Scalability Scalability is the ability to handle increased load by adding resources without performance degradation.
- Sentiment Analysis Sentiment analysis detects the emotional tone and attitude expressed in speech during conversations.
- Session Management Session management maintains connection and context for a voice interaction from start to finish.
- Silence Detection Silence detection identifies periods of no speech for turn-taking decisions and caller assistance.
- SIP SIP is the standard protocol for establishing and managing voice sessions over IP networks.
- SIP Trunking SIP trunking provides connectivity between voice systems and telephone networks over internet connections.
- Slot Filling Slot filling gathers required pieces of information to complete a task through conversation.
- Spam Prevention Spam prevention ensures legitimate outbound calls are not blocked or flagged by carriers and devices.
- Speech Synthesis Speech synthesis converts written text into spoken audio, giving AI voice agents their voice.
- Streaming Streaming processes data incrementally as it arrives for real-time speech recognition and response.
- System Prompt The system prompt defines the AI agent's behavior, personality, and operational constraints.
- Text-to-Speech (TTS) Text-to-speech converts written text into spoken audio output that callers hear.
- Tool Use Tool use enables AI agents to invoke external functions and APIs during conversations.
- Turn-Taking Turn-taking is the coordination of when each party speaks during a conversation.
- Uptime Uptime is the percentage of time a system is operational and available for use.
- Voice Activity Detection (VAD) Voice activity detection distinguishes speech from silence and background noise in audio.
- Voice AI Voice AI is the application of artificial intelligence to spoken language interfaces.
- Voice Biometrics Voice biometrics uses unique voice characteristics to verify identity without passwords or PINs.
- Voice Cloning Voice cloning creates synthetic voices that sound like specific people based on recordings.
- Voice User Interface (VUI) A voice user interface enables interaction with technology through spoken language.
- Voicemail Detection Voicemail detection identifies when outbound calls reach answering machines rather than live people.
- VoIP VoIP transmits voice communications over internet connections rather than traditional telephone circuits.
- Wake Word A wake word is a phrase that activates a voice system, signaling intent to begin an interaction.
- Webhook A webhook is an HTTP callback that delivers real-time notifications when events occur.
- Word Error Rate (WER) Word error rate measures speech recognition accuracy by calculating the percentage of words incorrectly transcribed.
- Workflow Automation Workflow automation executes multi-step business processes triggered by voice conversations.
- Zero-Shot Learning Zero-shot learning enables AI to handle tasks or concepts it was not explicitly trained on.