Intent represents the purpose or goal behind a caller’s utterance. Identifying intent is fundamental to understanding what callers want and determining how the AI agent should respond.
How is intent identified?
Intent classification analyzes the caller’s words in context to categorize their purpose. Modern systems using large language models can identify intent from natural language without requiring specific phrases. The same intent can be expressed many ways: “book an appointment,” “I need to see the doctor,” and “when can I come in” all express scheduling intent.
Why does intent matter?
Intent determines the conversation path. Once the AI knows the caller wants to schedule (versus cancel, reschedule, or inquire), it can engage the appropriate flow. Misidentified intent leads to irrelevant responses and caller frustration. Accurate intent detection is the foundation of useful voice AI.
Intent in practice
A caller says: “I’ve been waiting for my order for two weeks and I’m getting really frustrated.” The AI identifies multiple intents: order status inquiry (primary) and complaint expression (secondary). It addresses both: checking the order status and acknowledging the frustration with appropriate empathy before providing the update.