Conversational AI & Telephony Glossary
Understand the technology powering modern customer communication. Browse key terms, concepts, and definitions.
A
AI Receptionist
An AI-powered virtual assistant that answers phone calls, schedules appointments, and handles customer inquiries automatically.
Auto Attendant
An automated phone system that greets callers and routes them to the right department or person based on their selection.
Answering Service
A third-party service that answers phone calls on behalf of a business, typically staffed by human operators at a call center.
C
Call Forwarding
A phone feature that redirects incoming calls from one number to another, allowing calls to be answered on a different device or service.
Conversational AI
A branch of artificial intelligence that enables software to understand, process, and reply to human language naturally.
Call Routing
A management feature that distributes incoming calls to specific destinations based on preset rules and criteria.
H
HIPAA Compliance in Telephony
Telephony practices that protect Patient Health Information (PHI) in accordance with federal HIPAA regulations.
I
IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
An automated phone system that interacts with callers through voice or keypad inputs, typically using "press 1 for sales" style menus.
S
Speech-to-Text (STT)
A speech recognition technology that transcribes spoken audio into written text in real-time.
Spam & Robocall Filtering
A technology that identifies and blocks automated, unsolicited, or fraudulent phone calls before they reach your line.
V
Virtual Receptionist
A remote receptionist service — either human or AI — that answers calls for a business without being physically present in the office.
VoIP (Voice over IP)
A technology that allows you to make and receive voice calls over the internet rather than a traditional analog phone line.
Virtual Phone Number
A telephone number that is not tied to a specific physical location or device, operating entirely in the cloud.
Voicemail-to-Text
A service that transcribes recorded voicemail audio into written text and sends it via email or SMS.
Voice AI (Voice Artificial Intelligence)
A technology that enables software to engage in spoken conversation, understanding context and replying in real-time.
W
Warm Transfer
A call routing method where the transferring agent speaks to the receiving party before connecting the caller.