Technology

Have IVRs Had Their Day?

IVR solution concept with the words IVR over connections

Published On: 28th Sep 2026 08:00

IVRs have been a core part of operations for decades, but advances in technology are changing how customers are entering the contact centre – and in many ways replacing the role of the traditional IVR.

So, have IVRs had their day? We asked our panel of technology experts for their opinions on how they think this legacy technology will survive, evolve, or be replaced in the years to come.

Did you know? This conversation also continues in our webinar on “Should Voice Agents Replace IVRs?”.

“There Is Less Need for Lengthy Menu-Based Journeys to Manage Simple Enquiries”

Ben Scales, Head of Sales, Elephants Don’t Forget — Ben Scales

IVRs probably haven’t had their day, but their purpose is changing. As chatbots, voicebots, and virtual assistants become more capable, there is less need for lengthy menu-based journeys to manage simple enquiries.

As newer forms of automation take on more routine interactions, contact centre employees are left handling conversations that require judgement, empathy, or deeper knowledge. That places greater emphasis on frontline competence and whether employees are equipped to handle the more complex conversations that reach them.

“In Regulated or Complex Services, IVRs May Still Help Direct Customers to Specialist Support”

In regulated or complex services, IVRs may still have a useful role in identification and directing customers to specialist support. Rather than disappearing, they are likely to become one part of a broader, more intelligent customer journey.

Contributed by: Ben Scales, Head of Sales, Elephants Don’t Forget

“Businesses Do Not Have to Rip Out Every IVR Immediately, but They Should Be Planning for the Future”

Shaun McCurdy, Product Manager, Enghouse Interactive — Shaun McCurdy

The traditional IVR is not obsolete in every environment, but it is no longer the benchmark for customer service automation. Touch-tone and voice phone trees feel increasingly dated when compared with the capabilities of modern virtual agents.

A well-designed virtual agent can hold a more natural conversation, recognize what the customer is trying to achieve, and collect the details needed to move the interaction forward without forcing people through fixed menu paths.

That matters because customer expectations have shifted: speed, simplicity and accuracy now define a good experience. Businesses do not have to rip out every IVR immediately, but they should be planning for a future where voice-led virtual agents become the primary entry point into the contact centre.

Contributed by: Shaun McCurdy, Virtual Agent Product Manager, Enghouse

“The IVR of the Future Won’t Feel Like an IVR at All”

Jonathan Kershaw, Head of AI and Contact Centre Experiences, Vonage — Jonathan Kershaw

The IVR of the future won’t feel like an IVR at all. As large language models (LLMs) and agentic AI become embedded in contact centre platforms, the entry experience will become increasingly conversational, contextual, and personalized.

Customers will be recognized before they speak, their likely intent predicted from prior interactions, and their journey shaped in real time by AI that understands not just what they’re asking but why. The distinction between “IVR” and “virtual assistant” will blur entirely.

What will remain is the underlying function: intelligently routing and resolving customer interactions before a human agent is needed. Organizations that invest now in building conversational AI capabilities on top of their existing IVR infrastructure, rather than ripping and replacing, will be best positioned to evolve continuously as the technology matures.

Contributed by: Jonathan Kershaw, Head of AI and Contact Centre Experiences, Vonage

“The Modern Approach Is to Ask Customers What They Want in Their Own Words – Rather Than Making Them Choose From a Menu”

Martin Taylor, Co-Founder and Deputy CEO, Content Guru — Martin Taylor

We’ve been trying to replace IVRs with voice-driven alternatives for over thirty years, and it’s easy to see why: “interactive” voice response is prescriptive, limited to what the organization wants you to access, doesn’t use the customer’s own voice, and isn’t responsive.

IVRs work well when there are only a few options, but the modern approach is to ask customers what they want in their own words, rather than making them choose from a menu. Voice remains the predominant mode of human communication, and the latest voicebots can hold human-like dialogue, then hand over to a person seamlessly, without the customer repeating themselves.

We built exactly this for NHS 111 London, using a RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) model to triage the bulk of demand, leaving the shrinking pool of uncategorized cases to humans, with IVR now just a backstop.

Contributed by: Martin Taylor, Co-Founder and Deputy CEO, Content Guru

“Customer Expectations Have Evolved and Organizations Must Evolve With Them”

Lewis Gallagher, Senior Solutions Consultant, Netcall — Lewis Gallagher

IVRs have served contact centres well for decades, but customer expectations have evolved and organizations must evolve with them.

Typically built around deterministic, menu-driven journeys using DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency, rarely speech-based), traditional IVRs feel restrictive when customers simply want to explain issues in their own words.

Modern virtual agents, however, go far beyond call routing. Powered by natural language understanding (NLU) and AI, they can recognize intent, engage in conversation across channels, query business systems, knowledge bases, and even complete tasks on a customer’s behalf.

They can proactively engage customers, provide multilingual support, analyse sentiment, and crucially escalate interactions to the right person when required – not simply when a flow ends.

Rather than being a gatekeeper, virtual agents become intelligent “front doors” to your organization, resulting in faster resolutions, reduced workload, and more personalized CX.

IVRs haven’t had their day, but they are rapidly evolving into richer, far more capable journey orchestration layers.

Contributed by: Lewis Gallagher, Senior Solutions Consultant, Netcall

“The Future Is Less About Menu Trees and More About Intelligent Conversations”

Fern Carey, Principal CX Consultant, Route 101 — Fern Carey

For years, IVRs have been the gatekeepers of customer service, replacing switchboard operators, helping route calls and bringing order to busy contact centres.

But let’s be honest, few customers have fond memories of navigating endless menus, listening to irrelevant options, or repeatedly pressing “0” in the hope of reaching a human. Traditional IVRs can feel more like an obstacle than a service.

That doesn’t mean IVRs are obsolete. They still play an important role in directing callers and handling simple enquiries. However, the rise of conversational AI is changing customer expectations.

Rather than selecting from a menu, callers can explain what they need and be guided naturally to the right outcome, whether that’s completing a self-service task, receiving an answer to a common question, reaching the correct department, or being connected with the right agent.

Organizations also benefit from richer insight into customer intent and sentiment, helping identify trends, reduce friction, and drive continuous improvement. The future is less about menu trees and more about intelligent conversations that feel effortless for customers and more efficient for organizations.

Contributed by: Fern Carey, Principal CX Consultant, Route 101

“The IVR Isn’t Dead – It Just Finally Grew Up!”

Matthew Clare, VP, Product Marketing, UJET — Matthew Clare

Rather than eliminating IVR systems entirely, modern AI and CCaaS innovations have fundamentally reimagined it. The frustrating “press 1 for sales” touch-tone traps of the past are evolving into intelligent, context-aware entry points.

Instead of replacing the IVR layer entirely with generic chatbots, leading contact centres are transforming it using three core shifts:

Visual & In-App IVRs: Moving navigation onto smartphone screens lets customers select intent, upload multimedia (like photos or screenshots), and authenticate via biometrics before ever speaking to an agent.
Contextual & Predictive Routing: Leveraging real-time CRM data, purchase history, and predicted intent dynamically routes callers to specialized virtual agents or the ideal live rep immediately – bypassing repetitive identity checks.
Agentic AI Virtual Assistants: Modern voicebots don’t just sit in front of the IVR as defensive gatekeepers; they operate as the IVR to resolve complex, multi-step tasks autonomously.

The IVR isn’t dead – it just finally grew up!

Contributed by: Matthew Clare, VP, Product Marketing, UJET

★★★★★

What Do You Think? Have IVRs Had Their Day?

Click here to join our Readers Panel to share your experiences and feature in future Call Centre Helper articles.

For more great insights and advice from our panel of experts, read these articles next:

Author
Megan Jones

Megan Jones, Editor, Call Centre Helper

Megan interviews inspiring people across the contact centre industry to capture these amazing voices and turn them into best practice articles – covering all elements of what it takes to deliver truly outstanding employee and customer experiences.

Connect with Megan on LinkedIn