The DVLA has reported a 50% reduction in the amount of time customers spend on calls and an improvement in customer satisfaction since adopting voice recognition technology in call handling in 2024.
The new approach requires customers to tell the AI-powered Interactive Voice Response system (IVR) their enquiry and then be provided with the relevant response, receive an SMS containing a link to an appropriate DVLA service or Knowledge Article, or, if necessary, be routed to an advisor. This replaces the previous touchtone system, which saw customers select numbers which corresponded to options presented to them on a dialpad.
The technology has automated 25,000 internal transfers every month, reduced the amount of time customers spend on the line by an average of 90 seconds, and has been linked to a 5% increase in customer satisfaction scores.
The ICR operates using Google AI DialogFlow technology, a model demonstrating 90%+ accuracy in response to reports containing “well-trained intents with good example phrases”, according to reports. This was integrated into the DVLA’s Contact Centre platform, which is built on ‘Storm’, a product created by cloud communications provider Content Guru.
The technology was trained to meet the needs of the DVLA over a period of around three days, during which time the words used by customers when interacting with a basic natural language processing IVR were noted, and used to design routing and structure.
A risk assessment conducted on the model found that the greatest problem was the risk of the IVR misunderstanding a request, and subsequently routing the caller to an irrelevant message.
In order to mitigate this risk, customers who make an explicit request to speak to a member of staff, or whose enquiry cannot be understood, are transferred to an advisor. The same is also true for customers whose request would require their records to be accessed, or who choose not to speak when prompted.
Logs from the IVR are deleted after 90 days, and data contained in them can only be accessed by Storm Administrators with the relevant administration licence. Callers are also not prompted to provide any sensitive or personal data in their enquiries.
The technology does not use generative AI, with any responses provided having been pre-configured by the Contact Centre Voice and IVR administration team, who monitor and update the IVR on a daily basis.