A voice browser is a web browser that presents an interactive voice user interface to the user. In addition, it typically provides an interface to the PSTN or a PBX. Just as a visual web browser works with HTML pages, a voice browser operates on pages that specify voice dialogues. Typically these pages are written in VoiceXML, the W3C's standard voice dialog markup language, but other proprietary voice dialogue languages remain in use.
A voice browser presents information aurally, using pre-recorded audio file playback or using text-to-speech software to render textual information as audio. A voice browser obtains information using speech recognition and keypad entry (e.g., DTMF detection).
As speech recognition and web technologies have matured over the past decade, thousands of voice applications have been deployed commercially and voice browsers are supplanting traditional proprietary IVR systems. Scores of companies provide voice browsers. These take the form of software, packaged hardware/software solutions or hosted solutions.
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