IVA vs. IVR: Choosing the Right One for Your Business

An IVA is an Intelligent Virtual Agent, often used in larger businesses to provide a premium and automated customer experience. An IVR is short for Interactive Voice Response, which is a technology used in customer support scenarios to route calls efficiently.



While these might seem like very similar solutions, there are a few nuances between the two.



Both can play a large role in implementing customer service automation and efficiency but, depending on your business needs, one (or both) might be overkill. 



Here, we will explain the specific use cases that work best for both an IVR and IVA, as well as explore other options that are a little easier to implement for smaller businesses with limited budgets.



What Is Interactive Voice Response?



An  IVR  system is an automated phone functionality that allows callers to interact with your phone system by recognizing their keypad presses or their voice. 



A typical IVR sounds like: