The ASRALPHANUM action in NICE CXone Desktop Studio allows callers to speak or enter letters, numbers, and special characters through IVR. It converts spoken alphanumeric values into variables that can be used for authentication, customer identification, ticket tracking, email capture, and account validation.

This action is mainly used in advanced IVR automation workflows where users must provide:

• Email IDs
• Customer IDs
• Tracking Numbers
• Employee Codes
• License Keys
• Reference Numbers
• Usernames

The action supports:

• NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie)
• Digits (Zero–Nine)
• Special words like:
  • underscore
  • period
  • dash
  • space

What is ASRALPHANUM?

The ASRALPHANUM action captures spoken alphanumeric input and stores it inside a script variable.

Example:

Caller says:

“Alpha Bravo One Two Three”

Stored Result:

AB123

This makes it extremely useful for:

• Customer verification systems
• Email collection
• CRM lookup
• Ticket validation
• AI-powered self-service IVR

Supported Inputs

The action recognizes:

Alphabets

Using NATO phonetics:

| Spoken Input

|

Captured Value

| | — | — | |

Alpha

|

A

| |

Bravo

|

B

| |

Charlie

|

C

| |

Delta

|

D

|

Numbers

| Spoken Input

|

Output

| | — | — | |

Zero / Oh

|

0

| |

One

|

1

| |

Two

|

2

|

Special Characters

| Spoken Word

|

Output

| | — | — | |

Period

|

.

| |

Underscore

|

_

| |

Space

|

(space)

|

Real-Time Business Use Cases

1. Email Address Collection

Example:

Caller says:

“john underscore doe at gmail period com”

Stored Value:

john_doe@gmail.com

Used for:

• Password reset
• Email confirmation
• Digital ticket delivery

2. Customer ID Validation

Caller provides:

CUS102938

The IVR validates the ID directly from CRM.

3. Ticket Number Verification

Example:

INC458921

Used in IT helpdesk automation.

4. Employee Authentication

Users speak employee code before connecting to HR.

5. AI Self-Service Banking IVR

Capture:

• Account Number
• PAN Number
• Loan ID
• Application ID

without agent involvement.

ASRALPHANUM Workflow Architecture

Advanced Enterprise Workflow

Important Input Properties

1. Sequence

Defines the prompt played to the customer.

Example:

“Please say your customer ID now”

Supports:

• WAV files
• TTS prompts

2. Phrase

Used only for documentation purposes.

Helps developers understand the prompt text.

3. HighConfidence

Defines the confidence threshold for successful recognition.

Default:

72

If ASR confidence ≥ 72:

OnHighConfidence branch executes

4. MinConfidence

Defines minimum acceptable ASR confidence.

Default:

51

If recognition is between:

51–71

then:

OnMedConfidence executes

5. TimeoutSeconds

Defines silence timeout duration.

Default:

10 seconds

If caller remains silent:

OnTimeout branch executes

6. ResultVarName

Stores recognized value.

Example:

CustomerEmail

Result:

john_doe@gmail.com

7. DetectDTMF

Allows both:

• Voice Input
• Keypad Input

If enabled:

TRUE

caller can switch between speech and keypad.

Branch Conditions Explained

| Branch

|

Purpose

| | — | — | |

Default

|

Normal flow

| |

OnHighConfidence

|

High ASR accuracy

| |

OnMedConfidence

|

Medium confidence

| |

OnNoConfidence

|

Recognition failed

| |

OnTimeout

|

Caller silent

| |

OnError

|

System issue

| |

OnDTMF

|

Keypad input detected

|

Recommended IVR Design Strategy

This improves:

• Customer Experience
• Speech Accuracy
• Containment Rate

Sample Enterprise Banking Workflow

DTMF + ASR Hybrid Workflow

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Problem 1 – Low Recognition Accuracy

Solution

• Improve microphone quality
• Reduce background noise
• Increase confidence thresholds

Problem 2 – Immediate OnDTMF Trigger

Cause:

Old digits exist in DTMF buffer.

Solution

Set:

ClearDigits = TRUE

Problem 3 – Timeout Issues

Solution

Increase:

TimeoutSeconds

for elderly callers.

Optimization Tips

Use Short Prompts

Good:

Please say your customer ID

Bad:

Please carefully say your complete customer identification number now

Use Confirmation Flow

You said AB123.

Improves IVR accuracy significantly.

Enable Multi-Language Support

Using:

Voiceparams → languageLocale

You can detect:

• English
• Hindi
• Tamil
• Spanish
• French

ASRALPHANUM vs ASRDIGITS

| Feature

|

ASRALPHANUM

|

ASRDIGITS

| | — | — | — | |

Letters

|

Yes

|

No

| |

Numbers

|

Yes

|

Yes

| |

Email Capture

|

Yes

|

No

| |

Customer IDs

|

Yes

|

Limited

| |

Account Numbers

|

Yes

|

Yes

| |

Special Characters

|

Yes

|

No

|

Example Studio Script Logic

Play Prompt ↓ ASRALPHANUM ↓ OnHighConfidence ↓ Assign Variable ↓ API Request ↓ Decision Branch

Benefits of ASRALPHANUM

Faster Authentication

Reduces agent dependency.

Better Self-Service

Customers complete tasks without waiting.

Reduced AHT

Average Handle Time decreases.

Improved Automation

Enables AI-powered IVR workflows.

Conclusion

The ASRALPHANUM action in NICE CXone is one of the most powerful IVR speech-recognition tools for enterprise automation. It allows organizations to build intelligent voice workflows capable of capturing:

• Emails
• Customer IDs
• Tracking Numbers
• Usernames
• Authentication Data

When combined with:

• CRM APIs
• AI routing
• Voice Biometrics
• Self-service automation

it creates a highly scalable modern contact center experience-NICE CXone Training | VoipTrainers.