A lot has been going on in the interactive voice response (IVR) space. From new releases to the latest trends and insights, this is where you’ll find all of the most interesting IVR-related news of the week!

This week, Next IT revealed its all new mobile platform for its Sgt. Star program, serving as the first conversational technology applied to a virtual assistant of its kind. The virtual recruiter listens to and answers questions of all sort from potential recruits and their families – ranging from general inquires to personal problems.

Now, Sgt. Star can be found in the palm of users’ hands – as it is now available on Google Play for Android (News - Alert).

“We are bringing the elegance of simplicity to consumer–brand interactions with our new intelligent mobile platform,” said Denise Caron, Next IT CTO. “Sgt. Star is an excellent demonstration of how Next IT delivers a truly conversational platform – and that’s the future of customer service.” 

Also this week, a recent Plum Voice blog tackled the issue of crafting the perfect, “natural” IVR voice. TMC (News - Alert) contributing writer Susan Campbell asks, “Can you really create the optimal synthetic voice? And if so, what does it take to do so?” The article continues by offering some tips. First – and simple enough – choose a voice that sounds as close to a human as possible so those customers enjoy interacting with the IVR. Second, you must select a male or female voice. While female is widely preferred over male for its ability to sound more pleasing and soothing to listeners, some still opt for a distinct male tone.

“Bottom line: The more natural Plum Voice is able to make the IVR voice, the more natural, comfortable and satisfying experience it creates for the caller, which is the ultimate goal with any automated customer service initiative,” the article concluded.

Wrapping up this week is some particularly interesting news on a new type of user control. First there was touch screen, then voice recognition, and now perhaps eye control. This technology has been consistently worked upon over the past 20 years, and while it’s normally used by those with disabilities, it’s now trying to be pushed mainstream.

Once you calibrate your device to the movement of your eyes, you can see reflections made by infrared lights projected at your pupil. Thus, with the right algorithms, the device can calculate where the user is looking at, and therefore, what they want to control. Definitely an interesting way to close out this week’s IVR news!

That’s going to do it this week for the latest news in the IVR space. To see what’s new next week, be sure to check back in same time, same place – only here at TMCnet. 

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