Feature Description
On a purely technical level it could be argued that an automated attendant is a very simple kind of IVR, however in the telecom industry the terms IVR and Auto Attendant are generally considered distinct. An Automated Attendant serves a very specific purpose (replace live operator and route calls), whereas an IVR can perform all sorts of functions (telephone banking, account inquiries, etc.).
An AA will often include a directory which will allow a caller to dial by name in order to find user on a system. There is no standard format to these directories, and they can use combinations of first name, last name, or both.
The following lists common routing steps that are components of an automated attendant (any other routing steps would probably be more suitable to an IVR):
- Transfer to Extension
- Transfer to Voicemail
- Play Message (i.e. "our address is ...")
- Go To a Sub Menu
- Repeat Choices
In addition, an Automated Attendant would be expected to have values for the following
- '0' - where to go when the caller dials '0'
- Timeout - what to do if the caller does nothing (usually go to the same place as '0')
- Default mailbox - where to send calls if '0' is not answered (or is not pointing to a live person)
Read more about this topic: Automated Attendant
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