IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
Press-1-for-X menus. VICIdial supports IVR via Asterisk dial-plan.
IVR = Interactive Voice Response. The "Press 1 for sales, 2 for support" menu trees that route inbound calls without a human.
VICIdial supports IVR through Asterisk's dial-plan + custom AGI scripts. Configure in /etc/asterisk/extensions-vicidial.conf or via custom contexts.
Common patterns
- Press-1 menu: simple branching
- Speech recognition: speak "billing" or "support" — requires Asterisk + ASR engine
- Self-service: account lookups, balance queries (requires custom AGI to talk to your DB)
- Callback request: caller leaves number, dialer queues a callback
When to use IVR
- High volume inbound where most calls are routine
- Cost-saving — IVR handles 30-50% of calls without an agent
- 24/7 availability when no agents are on shift
When NOT
- Premium support where human-first matters
- Complex troubleshooting (most callers want a human)