Voice AI Glossary
Clear, practical definitions for the terms across voice AI, conversational AI, speech technology, telephony, and modern contact centres.
A14 terms
- Agent assistUnderstand Agent assist and its role in live-agent performance. Explore use cases, evaluation criteria, design trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Agentic orchestrationLearn what agentic orchestration is, how multi-agent workflows coordinate tools and decisions, and which safety and implementation risks matter.
- AI agent trainingUnderstand AI agent training and its role in production-ready AI agents. Explore use cases, evaluation methods, safety risks, and implementation guidance.
- AI evaluationUnderstand AI evaluation and its role in reliable AI deployment. Explore use cases, evaluation methods, safety risks, and implementation guidance.
- AI guardrailsUnderstand AI guardrails and its role in safe customer-facing automation. Explore use cases, evaluation methods, safety risks, and implementation guidance.
- AI hallucinationLearn what AI hallucination is, why it affects customer conversations, and how teams evaluate, reduce, and govern the risk.
- AI SDRUnderstand AI SDR and its role in scalable lead engagement. Explore use cases, evaluation methods, safety risks, and implementation guidance.
- AI voice agentUnderstand AI voice agent and its role in automated phone workflows. Explore use cases, evaluation criteria, design trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- AI workflow automationLearn what AI workflow automation is, how agents connect decisions with business systems, and which evaluation and safety controls matter.
- Automatic call distribution (ACD)Learn what automatic call distribution (ACD) is, how it routes calls and manages queues, and which operational metrics and risks matter.
- Automatic speech recognition (ASR)Learn what automatic speech recognition (ASR) is, how it converts speech to text, and how teams evaluate accuracy, latency, and reliability.
- Average handle timeUnderstand Average handle time and its role in contact-center capacity planning. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Average speed of answerUnderstand Average speed of answer and its role in queue responsiveness. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Average wait timeUnderstand Average wait time and its role in better customer experience. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
B1 term
C18 terms
- Call analyticsUnderstand Call analytics and its role in operational visibility. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Call centerUnderstand Call center and its role in high-volume customer demand. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Call deflectionUnderstand Call deflection and its role in lower live-agent demand. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Call flowUnderstand Call flow and its role in outcome-driven call journeys. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Call handlingUnderstand Call handling and its role in consistent customer service. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Call loggingUnderstand Call logging and its role in traceable call records and follow-up. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Call monitoringUnderstand Call monitoring and its role in quality assurance and coaching. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Call quality monitoringUnderstand Call quality monitoring and its role in dependable voice service. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Call routingUnderstand Call routing and its role in faster customer resolution. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Call transcriptionUnderstand Call transcription and its role in searchable conversation data. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- CCaaSUnderstand CCaaS and its role in modern contact-center operations. Explore support workflows, service metrics, risks, and implementation guidance.
- Cold transferUnderstand Cold transfer and its role in smooth call continuity. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Conversational AIUnderstand Conversational AI and its role in scalable customer engagement. Explore use cases, evaluation criteria, design trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Conversational analyticsUnderstand Conversational analytics and its role in better automated customer journeys. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Conversational commerceUnderstand Conversational commerce and its role in lower purchase friction. Explore use cases, evaluation criteria, design trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Conversational designUnderstand Conversational design and its role in usable AI interactions. Explore use cases, evaluation criteria, design trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Cost per resolutionUnderstand Cost per resolution and its role in service economics. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Customer onboardingUnderstand Customer onboarding and its role in faster time to product value. Explore support workflows, service metrics, risks, and implementation guidance.
D2 terms
- Deflection rateUnderstand Deflection rate and its role in self-service adoption measurement. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Dialogue managementLearn what dialogue management is, how it guides multi-turn conversations, and which design, evaluation, and implementation risks matter.
E2 terms
- Echo cancellationUnderstand Echo cancellation and its role in clear two-way conversations. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Escalation rateUnderstand Escalation rate and its role in automation gap detection. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
F2 terms
- First call resolution (FCR)Learn what first call resolution (FCR) means, how to calculate it, and how teams use it to improve service efficiency and satisfaction.
- First contact resolutionUnderstand First contact resolution and its role in resolution across support channels. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
H3 terms
- Help deskUnderstand Help desk and its role in structured service resolution. Explore support workflows, service metrics, risks, and implementation guidance.
- Hotword detectionUnderstand Hotword detection and its role in responsive voice interfaces. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Human handoffUnderstand Human handoff and its role in safe escalation to people. Explore use cases, evaluation methods, safety risks, and implementation guidance.
I3 terms
- Intelligent virtual agentLearn what an intelligent virtual agent is, how it delivers self-service, and how teams evaluate use cases, design trade-offs, and risks.
- Intent detectionUnderstand Intent detection and its role in accurate routing and automation. Explore use cases, evaluation methods, safety risks, and implementation guidance.
- Interactive voice response (IVR)Understand Interactive voice response (IVR) and its role in efficient call handling. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
M1 term
N2 terms
O2 terms
- Omnichannel customer supportLearn what omnichannel customer support is, how it connects conversations across channels, and which workflows and service metrics matter.
- Outbound callingUnderstand Outbound calling and its role in proactive customer engagement. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
P6 terms
- PhonemeUnderstand Phoneme and its role in speech recognition accuracy. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Predictive dialerUnderstand Predictive dialer and its role in productive outbound campaigns. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Proactive customer supportLearn what proactive customer support is, how it prevents avoidable contacts, and which workflows, service metrics, and risks matter.
- Prompt engineeringUnderstand Prompt engineering and its role in reliable agent behavior. Explore use cases, evaluation methods, safety risks, and implementation guidance.
- ProsodyUnderstand Prosody and its role in natural, trustworthy synthetic speech. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Public switched telephone network (PSTN)Learn what the public switched telephone network (PSTN) is, how it carries calls, its limitations, and how it compares with VoIP.
R2 terms
S8 terms
- Sentiment analysisUnderstand Sentiment analysis and its role in adaptive customer conversations. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Session border controllerUnderstand Session border controller and its role in secure, reliable VoIP. Explore architecture, call-flow examples, reliability risks, and deployment choices.
- SIP transferUnderstand SIP transfer and its role in flexible VoIP routing. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- Speaker diarizationUnderstand Speaker diarization and its role in multi-speaker call analysis. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Speech analyticsUnderstand Speech analytics and its role in better call outcomes. See how teams measure it, interpret results, and improve performance.
- Speech enhancementUnderstand Speech enhancement and its role in clearer, more intelligible calls. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Speech synthesisUnderstand Speech synthesis and its role in scalable spoken experiences. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Speech-to-text (STT)Understand Speech-to-text (STT) and its role in real-time caller understanding. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
T3 terms
- TelephonyUnderstand Telephony and its role in reliable voice operations. Explore architecture, call-flow examples, reliability risks, and deployment choices.
- Text-to-speech (TTS)Understand Text-to-speech (TTS) and its role in natural voice responses. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Ticket routingUnderstand Ticket routing and its role in faster issue resolution. Explore support workflows, service metrics, risks, and implementation guidance.
U1 term
V7 terms
- Voice activity detection (VAD)Learn what voice activity detection (VAD) is, how it supports natural turn-taking, and how teams evaluate latency, accuracy, and failure modes.
- Voice AIUnderstand Voice AI and its role in modern customer communication. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Voice biometricsUnderstand Voice biometrics and its role in secure caller verification. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Voice cloningUnderstand Voice cloning and its role in consistent branded speech. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)Learn what VoIP is, how internet-based calling works, and how teams evaluate architecture, reliability, call quality, and migration choices.
- Voice user interfaceUnderstand Voice user interface and its role in usable voice experiences. Explore use cases, evaluation criteria, design trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- VoicebotUnderstand Voicebot and its role in routine conversation automation. Explore use cases, evaluation criteria, design trade-offs, and implementation risks.
W4 terms
- Wake wordUnderstand Wake word and its role in hands-free voice activation. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
- Warm transferUnderstand Warm transfer and its role in context-preserving transfers. Explore workflows, operating metrics, risks, and implementation choices.
- WISMOUnderstand WISMO and its role in efficient ecommerce support. Explore support workflows, service metrics, risks, and implementation guidance.
- Word error rate (WER)Understand Word error rate (WER) and its role in speech recognition evaluation. Explore how it works, quality metrics, trade-offs, and implementation risks.
