Business phone terms explained: AI receptionist, IVR, call forwarding and more

AI receptionist

A phone receptionist that answers calls with a live, spoken conversation instead of a recorded menu. It understands what the caller says in their own language, asks the questions the business needs answered, books appointments, and sends the details to the business owner. The caller speaks normally; nothing has to be pressed.

Virtual receptionist

A receptionist who answers a business's calls without being at its premises. Historically a person at a shared call centre; today usually a conversational receptionist running on the business's own number.

IVR (Interactive Voice Response)

A recorded phone menu that asks the caller to press or say a number to reach a department. It routes calls but cannot hold a conversation. Most Indian callers to a small business hang up on an IVR within the first few seconds because it does not answer their question.

Call forwarding (call diversion)

A network setting that sends calls to your number on to another number, either always or only when you are busy, do not answer, or are unreachable. Set with dial codes such as *21*number# on Indian mobiles, or from the operator's app.

Conditional call forwarding

Forwarding that only applies in a given situation: busy (*67*), no answer (*61*), or unreachable (*62*). It lets your staff answer first and passes only the calls they could not take.

Cloud telephony

Phone service delivered over the internet by a provider, rather than by a box in your office. Virtual numbers, IVRs, call recording and call routing are the usual features. A conversational receptionist is built on top of cloud telephony but adds the conversation itself.

Virtual number

A phone number that is not tied to a SIM or a physical line, provided by a cloud telephony service and routed wherever you decide. In India virtual numbers are issued only after know-your-customer verification of the business.

Missed call

A call that rang and was not answered. In a business context it is usually a lost customer, because Indian callers rarely leave voicemail and instead call the next business. Some Indian marketing services use 'missed call' to mean a deliberate ring-and-hang-up from a customer to request a callback, which is a different thing.

Call transfer (handover)

Passing a live call from the receptionist to a person. A good receptionist transfers only when the caller asks for a person during working hours, tells the caller what is happening, and takes a message if nobody picks up.

Call transcript

A written record of what was said on a call, produced automatically. It lets the owner check what was promised without listening to the recording, and it is what the WhatsApp summary is built from.

Speed to lead

How quickly a business responds to a new enquiry. The chance of converting a lead falls sharply after the first few minutes, which is why a receptionist that answers at once and alerts you within seconds outperforms a callback the next morning.

DPDP Act

India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. It governs how personal data such as a caller's name, number and health details is collected, stored and used. A phone receptionist that records calls must tell callers, keep the data secure, and delete it when it is no longer needed.

TRAI DND

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's Do Not Disturb registry, which restricts promotional calls and messages to registered numbers. Service and appointment calls to your own customers are not promotional, but marketing calls are, and a receptionist should never be used to make them.

Know Your Customer (KYC) for phone numbers

The identity and business verification Indian regulations require before a business phone number can be issued. Typically a business registration or GST certificate, an identity proof, and an address proof.

Overage (extra minutes)

Minutes used beyond the bundle included in a monthly plan, charged at a per-minute rate. Plans show the rate up front so a busy month is predictable.

Barge-in (interruption)

When a caller starts speaking while the receptionist is still talking. A good receptionist stops and listens, the way a person would, instead of finishing its sentence over the caller.