Basic Capabilities of Automated Computer Telephony Systems

Call Establishment and Disconnection
Call Routing
Providing Information
Receiving Information
Speech Recognition
Network Functions

Call Establishment And Disconnection

Receive A Call

Detect and answer an incoming call.
Example: A system that answers a ringing call, plays a greeting and menu of options, and lets callers leave recorded messages.

Place A Call With Caller Input

Obtain dial tone and allow callers to enter digits to complete a call.
Example: An automated system that provides access to a long distance network. Callers dial the system and are prompted to enter an identification number using the telephone keypad. Once the number is verified, the caller hears dial tone and can place a long distance call.

Predictive Dialing

Place a call automatically and transfer the call to a live operator when it is answered. Dialing is initiated before the operator is idle and waiting.
Example: Predictive dialers are used in telemarketing applications so that operators do not have to spend their time placing calls.

Screen A Call

Callers can be identified by prompting them to record their names or by automatically obtaining their telephone numbers from the central office (using ANI or Caller ID services). The called party can be alerted to the caller's identity by playing the recording of the caller's voice or by displaying a message on the telephone set. Once the calling party is identified, the caller can accept or ignore the call. If the call is not accepted, the caller can be transferred to another extension or leave a recorded message.
Example: An answering service for a business that prioritizes calls from selected clients.

End A Call

Hang up a completed call.
Example: A system that answers calls, plays recorded information like the weather and then disconnects the caller.

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Call Routing

Detect Telephone Number Of Called Party

Route incoming calls directly to the proper extension without having to answer the call. Requires Direct Inward Dialing (DID) service or Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS) which allow the termination of different phone numbers on the same set of lines. When a connection is established, the local telephone central office transmits the last two, three, or four digits of the dialed number which are used by the computer telephony system to route the call automatically.
Example: An answering service with a limited number of incoming lines that answers calls for many different telephone numbers.

Conference A Call

Connect three or more parties on the same phone call.
Example: An audio teleconferencing service that lets people call a telephone number and connect to two or more parties by entering touch tone digits.

Forward A Call

Route an incoming call for one phone number to another phone number.
Example: A voice messaging system that allows users to specify a number where their calls should be forwarded when they are working at another location.

Transfer A Call Automatically

Answer an incoming call and route the call to another extension without any input from the caller.
Example: A caller reaches a computer telephony system and is instructed to"Enter 1 if calling from a touch phone, or wait to be connected." Callers who do not respond are automatically transferred to a receptionist after a five-second delay.

Transfer A Call Via Caller Input

Answer an incoming call and prompt for digits from the caller to initiate a transfer.
Example: A caller reaches a computer telephony system and is instructed to"Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Service, or wait to be connected to the receptionist." The caller presses"1" and is transferred to the sales department.

Supervise A Transfer

Answer a call and initiate a transfer without releasing the call. If the transfer cannot be completed (no answer, busy, etc.) the call can be transferred to another extension or a recording can be played.
Example: Computer telephony systems use this kind of transfer to provide call coverage. Callers who cannot reach an extension hear a greeting and are asked to leave a message.

Put A Call On Hold

Temporarily leave a phone call without disconnecting the call.
Example: A telemarketing system where a caller is put on hold while waiting in queue for a salesperson.

Notify A Called Party Of A Second Call

Inform a called party about a second incoming call by sending an audible tone that can be heard through the handset.
Example: Most telephone systems offer this feature, often in conjunction with voice messaging. If the alerted party declines to answer the second call, the calling party hears a recorded greeting and can leave a message.

Call Queuing

Hold calls until a specific person is available to answer them or until an outgoing trunk line or trunk group is available to route them. Callers who are put in a queue normally hear a tone or announcement informing them of their status.
Example: A helpline application in which callers dial a toll-free number to receive advice or assistance. If the number of incoming calls exceeds the number of people available to answer them, the calls can be queued.

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Providing Information

Define A Menu Of Choices Callers Will Hear

Record a menu of options that is played to callers when they reach the system. The calling party makes a selection from the menu by pressing a key on the telephone keypad or by speaking into the receiver (if the system is equipped with voice recognition).
Example: A bank-by-phone service greets callers and plays a menu of service options,"Press 1 for account balances, press 2 for interest rates," etc.

Play Information To Callers

Record and play back information. Information can be replayed automatically or by having callers select from a menu of choices.
Example: An audiotex application that dispenses prerecorded information to callers over the telephone (sports scores, weather, news, etc.).

Change The Speed And Volume Level Of A Message

Allows users to control the speed and volume level of message playback by entering a touch tone digit.
Example: A voice messaging system allows users to retrieve messages from a remote location. They can enter a touch tone digit to increase the volume level of message playback to compensate for poor line conditions. They can speed up or slow down the playback of the message.

Type-Ahead

Allows users to interrupt recorded prompts with the appropriate Touch Tone response.
Example: Users familiar with a balance-checking application can type in their account numbers before the entire instruction is played.

Speak Information Stored In An Text File

Text stored in a computer file (an email message, for example) can be read to callers using synthesized speech. Text-to-speech technology can create human-sounding speech without using prerecorded sound.
Example: Delivery of telephone directory information, currently limited to phone numbers, can provide names, addresses, or other relevant information.

Forward A Message

A recorded voice message can be forwarded to one or more recipients.
Example: Message forwarding is a standard feature of most voice messaging systems. A user who receives a voice message can forward it to other users, or groups of users, with or without added comments.

Broadcast A Message

A recorded voice message can be sent to several or all system users.
Example: Message broadcasting is a standard feature of most voice messaging systems. If a user receives a voice message, or records one, the message can be sent simultaneously to multiple users on the system.

Notify A Called Party About A Stored Message

Called party is informed that a calling party has left a recorded message.
Example: A voice messaging system will answer calls to a busy number and prompt the caller to leave a message. The system alerts the called party by lighting a message waiting light or by sending a display message, if the phone has display capability.

Send A Fax

Information stored in a computer file can be sent in facsimile form to a calling party.
Example: A fax response system. A caller dials a number and is prompted to enter a telephone number where the fax can be sent. More complex systems allow callers to select the information they want to receive from a menu of choices.

Store/Forward A Fax

Faxes can be received and stored, like voice messages, for later retrieval. This ensures delivery even if the receiving fax machine is busy. Faxes can also be forwarded to other recipients.
Example: A voice messaging system can provide"fax mailboxes" for storing fax messages for later retrieval and distribution.

Broadcast A Fax

A fax can be broadcast to a predefined list of recipients.
Example: A fax publishing system that sends the latest scientific findings to researchers at different locations.

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Receiving Information

Record And Store Information From Callers

Record spoken information and store it in a computer file for later retrieval.
Example: Polling system in which callers dial a number and are prompted to record their opinion about a current topic in the news.

Receive And Store A Fax

Answer a call, recognize, receive, and store a fax transmission in a computer file.
Example: A voice messaging system that has fax mailboxes providing call coverage for fax machines when they are busy.

Detect Telephone Number Of Calling Party

Capture the telephone number of the calling party sent by the local telephone central office via Automatic Number Identification (ANI) or Caller ID services.
Example: A telemarketing application can route a call to a sales agent while using the calling party's telephone number to locate the caller's sales history in a database.

Collect Dialed Digits

Detect and register digits dialed by a caller.
Example: An automated polling system lets callers dial a number and vote for their favorite candidate by entering a specific digit using the telephone keypad.

Call Logging

Detect and record information about incoming and outgoing calls including the duration of the call, date and time of day the call was placed, called or calling number, etc.
Example: Measuring the productivity of operators in a telemarketing company. For example, how much time they spend, on average, handling a call.

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Speech Recognition

Speech recognition technologies allow callers to interact with computer telephony systems by speaking words or phrases, making the system easier to use. They also make it possible to implement computer telephony applications in places where touch tone service is not available.

Recognize A Spoken Command (Speaker Dependent)

Identify spoken input from a particular person. The system must be"trained" for each user by: 1) selecting a vocabulary of words; 2) recording these words several times so the system will recognize his or her voice characteristics; 3) repeating the vocabulary under different environmental conditions (over a noisy telephone line, for example).
Example: An Automated Speed Dial List that lets drivers place calls from their car phones automatically by speaking the name of the party they wish to call.

Recognize A Spoken Command (Speaker Independent)

Identify spoken input from any person regardless of accent or gender. Speaker independent voice recognition is generally limited to specific vocabulary such as the digits"zero" through"nine,""yes,""no," and"oh."
Example: A bank-by-phone service for rotary telephone users. Callers hear a menu of options and speak their choices instead of entering Touch Tone digits.

Verify A Caller's Claimed Identity (Speaker Verification)

Verify a caller's claimed identity by analyzing a sample of the caller's voice and comparing it with a previously stored sample.
Example: A bank-by-phone service prompts a caller for an account number and uses the voice sample to verify whether the caller should be given access to the account.

Voice Cut-Thru

Allows caller's spoken input to be recognized during a prompt. Voice Cut-Thru makes menu-driven voice recognition systems easier to use by allowing an experienced user to speak his/her choice before the prompt is completed.
Example: A computer telephony system plays a greeting and a list of departments to which callers can be transferred. A caller can speak his or her choice without waiting for the entire menu to play.

Voicestop

Allows callers to interrupt a voice prompt by speaking (by saying the word"stop," for example). They can then speak a menu selection. Unlike Voice Cut-Thru, VoiceStop does not allow a speaker's words to be recognized during the prompt.
Example: A computer telephony system plays a greeting and a list of departments to which callers can be transferred. When callers hear the selection they want, they can stop the menu and then speak their choice.

Word Spotting

Identify specific words whether spoken singly or in a phrase.
Example: A long distance dialing application prompts callers with the question,"What type of call would you like to place?" The caller responds with either"collect" or"I want to place a collect call." The system recognizes the word"collect" and prompts the caller for a telephone number.

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Network Functions

Tone Detection

The ability to detect network tones allows an application to place a call and monitor its progress. The following tones can be detected:

Busy Tone: An extension, network, or trunk busy tone has been detected.
Special Information Tones (SIT): An invalid number was dialed, or there was a problem completing the call.
No Answer: Call has not been answered.
Connection: Call has been answered.
Ringing: Ringback has been detected.
No Ringing: No ringback has been detected.
Dial Tone: Host telephone system, local, or international dial tone has been detected.
Fax Machine Tone: Fax machine tone has been detected.
Modem Tone: Modem tone has been detected.
R2 MF Tones: Multifrequency tones used for network signaling and to send information about the called and calling subscriber's lines such as Automatic Number Identification (ANI).

Custom Tone Detection

The ability to detect nonstandard tones. An application can be programmed to recognize a variety of single- and dual-frequency tones not normally encountered on the public network.

Generate Standard Network Tones

The ability to generate those tones used for dialing and signaling within the public telephone network.

Custom Tone Generation

Create tones of a specified frequency, amplitude and duration.

Recognize When A Call Is Disconnected

Recognize a disconnect signal sent by the network central office or by a host telephone system.
Example: A telemarketing application places calls and plays prerecorded messages. If the called party hangs up, the system detects the disconnect, hangs up, and places another call.

Detect A Human Voice

Recognize when a call is answered by a person and not an answering machine or other device.
Example: A telemarketing application places calls and plays prerecorded messages only when the call is answered by a person.

Detect An Answering Machine

Recognize when a call is answered by an answering machine.
Example: A telemarketing application places calls and plays prerecorded messages. If an answering machine picks up the call, the call is automatically disconnected.

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