From IVR and ring groups to power dialers, 10DLC and AI voice agents — what each term means, why it matters to your customers, and where it shows up in TalkerIQ.
A cloud phone system with AI agents is a business phone service that runs over the internet — numbers, calling, texting, routing and dialers for your team — with AI voice and SMS agents on the same numbers that answer, qualify, book and follow up automatically, then hand conversations to people. TalkerIQ is a cloud phone system for business with AI voice and SMS agents built in.
1
10DLC (10-digit long code) is the US system for registering businesses that send application-to-person (A2P) text messages from standard local numbers. Carriers review the brand and the messaging use case; registered senders get higher throughput and are far less likely to be filtered.
TalkerIQ prepares and tracks your brand and campaign registration. Learn more
A
Automatic call distribution is the logic that decides which available agent receives the next call in a queue — by order, skill, availability or round-robin.
TalkerIQ queues and ring groups distribute calls to people or overflow to an AI agent. Learn more
An AI receptionist is an AI voice agent that answers a business's phone like a front-desk person: greeting callers, answering common questions, booking appointments and routing or transferring calls.
On TalkerIQ it runs on the same numbers and calendar as your staff. Learn more
An AI SMS agent replies to text messages automatically in natural language — answering questions, qualifying leads, booking and rescheduling — and hands the thread to a person when needed.
TalkerIQ AI SMS replies appear in the shared team inbox. Learn more
An AI voice agent is software that holds spoken phone conversations: it understands callers, responds in a natural voice, takes actions such as booking or updating a CRM, and transfers to a human when appropriate.
TalkerIQ AI voice agents answer in about 1.2 seconds, in 12+ languages. Learn more
An answering service takes calls on a business's behalf, traditionally with human operators who take messages. AI answering services use AI voice agents to answer, resolve and book instead of only taking messages.
TalkerIQ replaces message-taking with an AI agent that can act. Learn more
An auto attendant is the recorded greeting and menu that answers a business line and directs callers by keypress or speech, without a human operator. It is another name for an IVR phone menu.
Build one visually in TalkerIQ. Learn more
B
Business texting is sending and receiving SMS and MMS from a company phone number rather than personal phones, so conversations are shared, logged and compliant.
TalkerIQ texts from the same numbers customers already call. Learn more
C
A call disposition is the outcome recorded at the end of a call — for example "booked", "no answer", "voicemail" or "not interested" — used for reporting and to trigger follow-up.
TalkerIQ logs dispositions for human and AI calls the same way. Learn more
A call queue holds incoming callers in order, with hold music and optional position announcements, until the next available agent can answer.
TalkerIQ queues can overflow to an AI agent after a wait limit. Learn more
Call recording captures the audio of a phone call for training, quality assurance, dispute resolution or compliance. Recording laws vary; some places require all parties to consent.
TalkerIQ adds transcripts, AI summaries and pause/resume. Learn more
Call routing decides where an incoming call goes — which number, team, person, queue, menu or AI agent — based on rules such as time of day, caller identity or menu choice.
Configure routing per number in TalkerIQ. Learn more
A cloud phone system is a business phone service delivered over the internet: numbers, calling, routing and features run in the provider's cloud, and people answer in a browser, desktop or mobile app instead of on desk phones connected to an on-site PBX.
TalkerIQ is a cloud phone system with AI voice and SMS agents built in. Learn more
A cold (blind) transfer sends a caller directly to another person or team without introducing them first. It is fast but passes no context.
TalkerIQ also supports warm transfers with a summary. Learn more
Conversational AI is technology that understands and generates natural language in real time so software can hold a two-way conversation by voice or text.
It powers TalkerIQ's AI voice and SMS agents. Learn more
CRM telephony integration connects a phone system to a CRM so reps can click to call, see caller records when the phone rings, and have calls, recordings and outcomes logged automatically.
TalkerIQ integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Pipedrive, Zoho and more. Learn more
I
IVR is an automated phone menu that greets callers and routes them by keypress or speech ("press 1 for sales"). Modern IVRs can hand unclear requests to an AI agent instead of a dead end.
Build multi-level menus with business hours in TalkerIQ. Learn more
K
A knowledge base is the set of documents, web pages and FAQs an AI agent uses to answer questions accurately about a specific business.
TalkerIQ agents answer from the knowledge bases you attach. Learn more
L
Local presence dialing shows the person you are calling a caller ID with a familiar local area code, chosen from numbers the business owns, which tends to increase answer rates.
Works for reps and AI campaigns on TalkerIQ. Learn more
M
MMS (multimedia messaging service) is a text message that carries images, PDFs or other media in addition to text.
Send MMS from your TalkerIQ business number. Learn more
N
Number porting moves an existing phone number from one provider to another so a business keeps the same number. It requires account details and a signed letter of authorization (LOA).
TalkerIQ handles the carrier process and offers a temporary number meanwhile. Learn more
O
Omnichannel follow-up contacts a lead across more than one channel — calls, texts and voicemail — in a planned sequence until they respond.
TalkerIQ campaigns combine call and SMS steps with AI smart retries. Learn more
P
A PBX (private branch exchange) is a business's internal phone switch that connects desk phones and external lines. Traditional PBXs are on-site hardware; cloud phone systems replace them with hosted software.
TalkerIQ needs no PBX or desk phones. Learn more
Post-call analysis uses AI to transcribe, summarise and score a finished call — sentiment, intent, outcome and custom fields — so teams can act on it without listening back.
Runs on every TalkerIQ call, human or AI. Learn more
A power dialer automatically calls the next number on a list as soon as the previous call ends, one line per rep, so reps never dial manually.
TalkerIQ adds local presence and one-click voicemail drop. Learn more
A predictive dialer dials several numbers per available rep at once and connects reps only to calls a person answers, maximising talk time on large lists.
Best for teams of several reps working large lists. Learn more
R
A ring group is a set of people whose phones ring together (or in order) for the same incoming call; the first to answer takes it.
TalkerIQ rings browser, desktop and mobile apps at once. Learn more
S
A shared team inbox puts every text conversation on a business number in one place where teammates can assign owners, leave internal notes and avoid double replies.
TalkerIQ shows AI and human replies in the same inbox. Learn more
Smart retries use AI to choose when and how to try a lead again — the time, the channel (call or text) and the message — based on what has happened so far.
Built into TalkerIQ campaigns. Learn more
An SMS segment is one billable unit of a text message: up to 160 GSM-7 characters or 70 Unicode characters. Longer messages are split into multiple segments.
Check any message with the free SMS length calculator. Learn more
A softphone is a phone that runs as software on a computer or mobile device, letting people make and receive calls without a physical desk phone.
TalkerIQ's softphone runs in the browser and desktop app. Learn more
Speed to lead is the time between a lead's inquiry and the business's first response; faster responses generally win more conversations.
TalkerIQ AI agents can call or text new leads immediately. Learn more
T
A toll-free number (such as 800, 888 or 877 in North America) is free for callers to dial; the business pays for the calls. It is commonly used for support and national campaigns.
Available on TalkerIQ alongside local and international numbers. Learn more
V
A virtual phone number is a number not tied to a specific phone line or device; calls and texts are delivered over the internet to apps, menus, queues or AI agents.
Every TalkerIQ number is virtual and works on any device. Learn more
Voicemail drop lets a rep leave a pre-recorded voicemail with one click when a call reaches voicemail, then move straight to the next call.
Built into the TalkerIQ dialer. Learn more
Voicemail transcription converts voicemail audio into text so messages can be read, searched and acted on quickly.
TalkerIQ adds AI summaries and owner notifications. Learn more
VoIP (voice over internet protocol) carries phone calls over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. It is the technology underneath cloud phone systems.
TalkerIQ is a VoIP-based cloud phone system. Learn more
W
A wallboard is a real-time dashboard showing call-center metrics such as calls waiting, longest wait, agents available and service level.
TalkerIQ shows human and AI agents on one wallboard. Learn more
A warm (attended) transfer briefs the next person before connecting the caller, so the conversation continues with context instead of starting over.
TalkerIQ AI agents warm-transfer with a written summary. Learn more
FAQ
Still unsure? Talk to our team.
Reviewed by the TalkerIQ product team · Updated
VoIP is the technology that carries calls over the internet. A cloud phone system is the complete business phone service built on VoIP — numbers, routing, apps, recording and reporting — hosted by a provider such as TalkerIQ.
An IVR routes callers through a fixed menu of options. An AI voice agent holds a natural conversation, answers questions and completes tasks such as booking. Many businesses use both: the IVR routes, and the AI agent handles requests the menu cannot.
A power dialer calls one number at a time per rep, automatically moving to the next when a call ends. A predictive dialer calls several numbers per rep at once and connects reps only to answered calls, which suits larger teams and lists.
A cold transfer passes the caller straight to another person without an introduction. A warm transfer briefs the next person first, so the caller does not need to repeat themselves.
In the US, businesses sending application-to-person texts from standard local numbers should register their brand and campaign for A2P 10DLC. Registered traffic is far less likely to be filtered by carriers.
Yes. On TalkerIQ, AI voice and SMS agents use the same business numbers, contacts and history as your team, so an AI agent can answer or text first and hand the conversation to a person with full context.
Book a walkthrough of numbers, routing, dialers and AI agents on one TalkerIQ phone system.
