Glossary
Call Routing
Directing each inbound call to the correct destination — human agent, queue, or automated workflow — based on intent, caller context, or business rules.
Call routing is the logic that decides what happens to an inbound call after it’s answered. Traditional DTMF IVR routing relies on the caller pressing buttons through menu trees ("press 1 for sales"). Modern intent-based routing uses voice AI to listen to the caller’s actual request and route based on inferred intent, account context (VIP, at-risk, language preference), business hours, agent availability, and skill-based matching. Industry benchmarks show DTMF IVR mis-routes at 25–35%; intent-based routing typically drops that to under 10% while also shortening time-to-route from 45–90 seconds (menu navigation) to 5–10 seconds (one open-ended question).
Why it matters
- Mis-routes are expensive: every transfer is a frustrated customer and a longer call.
- Faster routing directly improves CSAT, FCR, and AHT — multiple metrics move at once.
- Skill-based routing puts the right agent on the right call (language, expertise, account tier).
- Intent-based routing replaces the #1 most-hated CX element (IVR menus) with a conversation.
- VIP and retention-risk routing protects the highest-value customer relationships.