AI calling glossary · 36 terms
The vocabulary, without the sales pitch.
Every definition here leads with what the term is, in one sentence you could repeat to a colleague. Where something is a legal obligation, it says whose.
How the conversation works
Barge-in
Barge-in is a voice system's ability to stop speaking the moment the caller starts, instead of talking over them.
Turn-taking
Turn-taking is how a voice system decides the caller has finished speaking and it is now its turn to reply.
Warm transfer
A warm transfer passes a live call from an automated agent to a human along with the context of what has already been discussed.
Language & dialect
Code-switching
Code-switching is moving between two languages inside a single sentence, such as Telugu grammar carrying English words like 'seat', 'hostel' or 'EMI'.
Tenglish
Tenglish is the everyday mixture of Telugu and English used across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where English nouns sit inside Telugu sentence structure.
Dialect
A dialect is a regional variety of a language with its own vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar, distinct enough that speakers immediately recognise where a person is from.
The AI underneath
AI voice agent
An AI voice agent is software that holds a spoken phone conversation with a person, understanding what they say and replying in a synthetic voice, without a human on the line.
ASR (speech recognition)
ASR, or automatic speech recognition, is the step that converts the caller's spoken audio into text the system can act on.
TTS (text-to-speech)
TTS, or text-to-speech, is the step that turns the agent's written reply into audible speech.
Voice cloning
Voice cloning is creating a synthetic copy of a specific person's voice from recordings of them speaking.
Sentiment analysis
Sentiment analysis is automatically judging the emotional tone of a conversation, usually as positive, neutral or negative.
Webhook
A webhook is an automatic message one system sends another the moment something happens, such as a new form submission triggering a call.
CRM integration
CRM integration is the connection that lets call outcomes and captured details flow automatically into the system where a business already tracks its customers.
LLM agent
An LLM agent is a system built on a large language model that decides what to do next in a conversation, rather than following a fixed script.
RAG (retrieval-augmented generation)
RAG is a technique where a system looks up relevant information from a trusted source and gives it to the language model before it answers.
Hallucination
A hallucination is when an AI system states something false with the same confidence it states something true.
Telephony
IVR
IVR, or interactive voice response, is a menu-driven phone system where the caller presses keys or says fixed words to move through pre-recorded options.
Outbound dialer
An outbound dialer is the system that places calls from a list, decides how many to run at once, and handles retries when nobody answers.
DID number
A DID number is a phone number that routes directly to a system or extension rather than through a switchboard.
SIP trunk
A SIP trunk is the internet connection that carries phone calls between a calling platform and the telephone network.
What to measure
Latency
Latency in a voice agent is the delay between the caller finishing a sentence and the agent starting to answer.
Connect rate
Connect rate is the share of dialled calls that a person actually answers.
Containment rate
Containment rate is the share of calls an automated system completes on its own without transferring to a human.
Call deflection
Call deflection is handling a contact through an automated channel so it never reaches a human queue.
First call resolution
First call resolution is the share of enquiries fully settled on the first call, with no callback needed.
Average handle time
Average handle time is the mean duration of a call, including everything needed to complete it.
Lead response time
Lead response time is the gap between an enquiry arriving and the first genuine contact attempt.
Transcript
A transcript is the written record of everything said on a call, by both parties, usually timestamped.
Call outcome
A call outcome is the structured result recorded for a call, such as booked, callback, not interested or wrong number.
Word error rate
Word error rate is the percentage of words a speech recognition system gets wrong, measured against a correct transcript.
Law & compliance in India
DLT registration
DLT registration is the mandatory process of registering a business, its sender identity and its message templates on India's blockchain-based Distributed Ledger Technology platform before sending commercial communications.
TRAI regulations
TRAI regulations are the rules issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India governing commercial calls and messages, including registration, consent, origination and complaint handling.
DND registry
The DND registry is India's official list of subscribers who have opted out of receiving commercial communications, which businesses must check before making promotional calls.
Opt-out
An opt-out is a caller's request not to be contacted again, which must be recorded and honoured from that point onward.
DPDP Act
The DPDP Act is India's personal data protection law, setting requirements for lawful basis, notice, consent and the right to withdraw consent when handling personal data.
AI disclosure
AI disclosure is telling the person on the call that they are speaking to an automated system rather than a human.