IVR stands for Interactive Voice Response. It is an automated phone system that answers a call, plays recorded prompts, and lets a caller respond either by pressing keys or speaking, before the call reaches a person or is routed further.
Where an IVR shows up in pay per call
An IVR can sit on either end of a call. On the publisher's side, an IVR is sometimes used to qualify a caller with basic questions before the call is offered to a buyer, which is part of what makes a call screened. On the buyer's side, a buyer's own IVR might answer first, route the call to the right agent or team, or collect information before a person joins the conversation.
How an IVR interacts with the connected-time buffer
This is the detail that trips up a lot of buyers new to connected-time billing. Time spent in the buyer's own IVR after the call has been answered still counts toward the buffer. The billing system does not distinguish between a caller talking to a human and a caller navigating your own automated system; both happen after your line has answered, so both accumulate connected time the same way.
If your team routes inbound calls through your own IVR before a person answers, factor that time into which buffer tier makes sense, since some of the buffer may already be used up before a human ever says a word.
Screened calls and IVR are related but not the same thing
A screened inbound call has been qualified upstream before it reaches the buyer, for example through an IVR or an agent script that confirms basic qualifying answers. An IVR is one tool that can be used to do that screening, but screening can also happen through a live agent asking qualifying questions. Screening depends on the specific campaign and publisher, and Callmart does not publish a fixed screening script or a guaranteed standard, since it varies by campaign.
Where buyers might use their own IVR
- Routing calls to the right team member based on a caller's selection.
- Playing a short message or menu before a live agent joins.
- Collecting a piece of information before connecting to an agent.
What to weigh before adding your own IVR step
An IVR step on your end can help route calls efficiently on a busy team, but every second it runs is counted against the buffer for that call once your system has answered. On a shorter buffer tier, a long IVR menu could use up meaningful time before an agent ever gets involved.
The tradeoff between IVR convenience and buffer time
An IVR on the buyer's side can route a caller efficiently to the right person, especially on a larger team, but it does so at the cost of some of the buffer being consumed before a human ever answers. On a 10 second buffer, a menu that takes several seconds to play through can use up a meaningful share of that time before an agent even says hello.
Designing a buyer-side IVR with buffer in mind
Teams that use their own IVR often keep it short specifically because of this tradeoff, using a brief routing prompt rather than a long menu of options. The goal is to route the call to the right person quickly without spending connected time on something the caller has to sit through before a real conversation starts. There is no requirement to use an IVR at all; many buyers, especially smaller teams, simply let the call ring straight through to a person, which uses none of the buffer before a human is on the line.
- Routing a caller to a specific agent or team based on a key press.
- Playing a short identification message before a live agent joins.
- Collecting one piece of information, such as a state, before connecting the call.
Common questions
01Does time in my own IVR count toward the billing buffer?
Yes. Once your system has answered the call, time spent in your own IVR or voicemail still counts toward the buffer, the same as time spent talking to a live agent.
02Is a screened call the same as one that went through an IVR?
Not necessarily. Screening can happen through an IVR or through a live agent confirming qualifying answers. IVR is one method, not a guarantee of a specific screening standard.
03Should I use an IVR on my own line for Callmart calls?
That is a team decision based on how you route calls internally. Just account for the fact that any IVR time on your end still counts toward the buffer.
04Does Callmart publish the exact IVR script used to screen calls?
No. Screening depends on the specific campaign and publisher, and a specific script or qualifying standard is not published.