ASR Action in NICE CXone – Complete Guide

The ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) action in NICE CXone allows IVR systems to capture spoken customer input and store it inside script variables for intelligent routing and automation.

Unlike specialized ASR actions, the ASR action offers greater flexibility because you can create your own phrase lists or grammar files for custom voice recognition workflows.

ASR Action in NICE CXone

What is ASR in NICE CXone?

xThe ASR action listens to customer speech during a phone interaction and converts the spoken response into usable script data.

For example, customers can say:

• “Sales”
• “Technical Support”
• “Account Balance”
• “Yes”
• “No”
• “12345”

The ASR engine processes the voice input and routes the interaction based on confidence levels and recognition results.

Professional ASR Workflow Architecture

Supported Script Type

| Script Type

|

Supported

| | — | — | |

Phone Scripts

|

Yes

|

The ASR action is specifically designed for voice-based IVR workflows

Key Features of ASR Action

Voice Input Recognition

Captures spoken customer responses during IVR interactions.

Confidence Scoring

Returns confidence percentages for recognition accuracy.

DTMF Support

Supports both voice input and keypad input.

Custom Phrase Lists

Allows creation of tailored voice recognition phrases.

Grammar File Support

Supports advanced speech recognition using grammar files.

Intelligent Routing

Routes calls dynamically based on spoken responses.

How ASR Works in NICE CXone

Step 1 – Play Prompt

The IVR asks the customer a question.

Example:

Please say your department name.

Step 2 – Customer Speaks

The caller responds:

Technical Support

Step 3 – Speech Recognition

The ASR engine analyzes the spoken input.

Step 4 – Confidence Evaluation

The engine returns:

• Recognized phrase
• Confidence percentage

Step 5 – Script Routing

The script routes the call based on:

• High confidence
• Medium confidence
• Low confidence
• Timeout

DTMF input

ASR Voice Recognition Flow

Important Input Properties

1. Caption

The Caption property defines the label shown on the Studio script canvas.

Example:

Capture Department

2. Sequence

Defines the prompt played to the customer.

You can use:

• WAV audio files
• Text-to-Speech (TTS)

WAV File Example

“welcome.wav”

TTS Example

“%Please say your account number”

3. Phrase

Used only for documentation purposes inside the script.

Example:

Please say your department name

4. HighConfidence

Defines the confidence threshold for highly accurate matches.

Default:

70

If recognition confidence exceeds 70%, the script takes the:

OnHighConfidence

branch.

5. MinConfidence

Defines the minimum acceptable recognition confidence.

Default:

50

If confidence falls:

• Between 50–70 → OnMedConfidence
• Below 50 → OnNoConfidence

Confidence Level Illustration

6. TimeoutSeconds

Defines how long the IVR waits for customer input.

Default:

10 seconds

If no input is received:

OnTimeout

branch executes.

7. ResultVarName

Stores the recognized speech result.

Example:

DepartmentName

If customer says:

Sales

Then:

DepartmentName = Sales

8. ConfidenceVarName

Stores the confidence percentage returned by the ASR engine.

Example:

ASRConf

9. DetectDTMF

Allows both voice and keypad input handling.

Example:

• Customer can say:

Sales

OR press:

10. ClearDigits

Controls whether old DTMF tones are cleared from memory.

Default:

True

11. ContentType

Specifies how speech recognition is processed.

Available options:

• PhraseList
• GrammarFile

12. PhraseList

Used to create custom recognition phrases.

Example Phrase List

Sales Support Billing Technical Operator

13. GrammarFile

Allows advanced speech recognition using grammar files.

Useful for:

• Complex IVR systems
• Multi-language recognition

Dynamic voice models

Result Branch Conditions

| Branch

|

Description

| | — | — | |

Default

|

Standard execution

| |

OnHighConfidence

|

High accuracy recognition

| |

OnMedConfidence

|

Medium confidence match

| |

OnNoConfidence

|

Recognition failed

| |

OnTimeout

|

No customer response

| |

OnError

|

System or connectivity issue

| |

OnDTMF

|

Customer pressed keypad digits

|

Real-Time ASR Use Cases

Banking

Voice-enabled account verification.

Healthcare

Appointment booking using speech.

Telecom

Plan selection through IVR voice menus.

Insurance

Policy number voice capture.

E-Commerce

Order status tracking using voice.

ASR Best Practices

Keep Prompts Short

Simple prompts improve recognition accuracy.

Good Example

Please say your department.

Bad Example

Please clearly state the department you wish to connect with today.

Use High Confidence Thresholds Carefully

Recommended:

• HighConfidence → 70–80
• MinConfidence → 50–60

Always Configure Timeout Handling

Use:

• Retry prompts
• Fallback routing
• Agent escalation

Support Both Voice and DTMF

Enable:

DetectDTMF = True

for better accessibility.

Advantages of ASR in NICE CXone

| Feature

|

Benefit

| | — | — | |

Voice Recognition

|

Hands-free customer interaction

| |

Confidence Scoring

|

Intelligent routing

| |

Phrase Lists

|

Custom recognition

| |

Grammar Files

|

Advanced speech models

| |

DTMF Support

|

Multi-input flexibility

| |

Timeout Handling

|

Better customer experience

|

Conclusion

The ASR action in NICE CXone is a powerful IVR speech recognition tool that enables intelligent voice-based customer interactions.

It helps organizations:

• Automate IVR systems
• Improve customer self-service
• Reduce agent workload
• Enable smarter routing
• Build conversational voice workflows

By combining:

• Phrase Lists
• Grammar Files
• Confidence Scoring
• DTMF Handling
• Intelligent Routing

Businesses can create advanced AI-powered IVR automation systems inside NICE CXone - NICE CXone Training | VoipTrainers.