TL;DR
Use a keypad IVR to route calls and collect digits, an AI voice bot (often sold as AI IVR) to answer repeat questions in the caller's own words, and people for money, anger and judgement. In India a keypad IVR comes with phone plans from ₹600 a month, a voice bot costs about ₹6 a minute, and a customer service representative averages ₹22,409 a month in salary (Indeed).
Use a keypad IVR to route calls and collect digits, an AI voice bot to answer repeat questions in the caller's own words, and a person for anything involving money, anger or judgement. In India, a keypad IVR comes with business phone plans from ₹600 a month (Heyo Pro), a voice bot costs about ₹6 a minute (Ringg AI, phone line included), and a customer service representative averages ₹22,409 a month in salary (Indeed).
Most support lines end up using all three. The question is which one picks up first for each kind of call.
What's the difference between IVR, AI IVR and a voice bot?
- Keypad IVR plays a recorded menu: "Press 1 for billing, 2 for technical help." It routes calls and takes digits. It can't understand a sentence.
- AI IVR, also called conversational IVR, asks "How can I help?" and routes the caller by what they say. It replaces the menu but usually still hands the call to a person.
- Voice bot, or AI voice agent, holds the conversation and finishes the job: answers the question, takes the details, books the callback. Intercom's Fin Voice, for example, classifies a caller's issue and then resolves it or routes it.
- Human agent is your support executive, who handles what the others can't.
Here is the same call handled three ways (an illustrative example). A customer calls to ask, "Mera refund kab tak aayega?"
- Keypad IVR: "Press 2 for billing." The caller presses 2 and waits in the billing queue.
- AI IVR: hears "refund", skips the menu and puts the caller straight through to the billing team.
- Voice bot: asks for the order number, looks up the refund, and says "It was processed on Monday; it should reach your account by Thursday." No person needed.
Vendors blur these labels, and many products do all of the first three. When you compare them, ask to hear a call the product resolved on its own, not one it merely routed.
Which calls should each one answer?
Sort your calls by type, then give each type the cheapest first voice that won't annoy the caller. This table works for most SaaS, D2C and service businesses.
| Call type | Best first answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "Which team do I need?" | AI IVR, or a short keypad menu | Pure routing, no answer needed |
| OTP, PIN or account number | Keypad IVR | Private, and digits come through exactly |
| Plan, price or timings question | Voice bot | Same correct answer every time |
| Order or ticket status | Voice bot with a lookup | Needs data, but low risk |
| Login or password help | Voice bot first, then a person | Steps are standard; account access isn't |
| Refund or billing dispute | Person | Money and judgement involved |
| Angry or upset caller | Person | Needs empathy and authority to fix |
| Outage reported by many callers | Voice bot with a status update | Spike in volume, one answer for all |
If a call type isn't on the list, ask two questions. If a wrong answer would cost money or trust, send it to a person; if every caller gets the same answer, give it to the bot.
What does each option cost for 1,000 calls a month?
Take a support line with 1,000 calls a month averaging 2 minutes each: 2,000 talk minutes. Here is the monthly cost of each way of answering them, before GST.
How we compared: prices and features from each provider's official page, checked in September 2026, and salaries from Indeed and AmbitionBox. Prices exclude 18% GST unless stated.
| Option | Working | Monthly cost | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keypad IVR on a phone plan | Heyo Pro, 5 users, IVR included | ₹600 | Routing only; people still answer |
| AI voice bot, Bolna | 2,000 × ₹5.52 | ₹11,040 + line and platform fee | Repeat questions, 24x7 |
| AI voice bot, Ringg AI | 2,000 × ₹6 + ₹499 number | ₹12,499 | Repeat questions, 24x7, line included |
| One support executive | Indeed average salary | ₹22,409 | Office hours only |
| People round the clock | 4 executives × ₹22,409 | ₹89,636 | 24x7, all call types |
The call volume and staffing are our assumptions; salaries are Indeed's India average. The last row assumes three 8-hour shifts plus one person to cover weekly offs, and salary only: no office, laptop or phone costs. AmbitionBox puts customer support executives at ₹2.9 to ₹3.2 lakh a year, about ₹24,200 to ₹26,700 a month, a little above Indeed.
Other keypad IVR prices for comparison: Superfone includes a one-level "IVR Lite" in its ₹599 plan, MyOperator's Sedan plan with IVR is ₹5,000 a month billed yearly, Tata Tele's Smartflo Lite is ₹950 per licence a month (three months minimum) plus ₹5,000 once, and Vi Business sells an auto receptionist from ₹1,500 a month. For the full picture, see our business phone system cost guide.
A practical mix for a small team: keep one person on calls in office hours, put a voice bot on after-hours and overflow calls, and keep keypad entry for OTPs. At 700 after-hours minutes on Ringg AI (700 × ₹6 + ₹499 = ₹4,699, subject to Ringg's monthly minimum), plus one executive at ₹22,409, that's ₹27,108 a month for round-the-clock cover, against ₹89,636 for people alone.
When does a keypad IVR still win?
- Numbers that shouldn't be said aloud. OTPs, PINs and card digits are safer on the keypad, and there's no speech error.
- Few, fixed choices. If callers have three reasons to call, "press 1, 2 or 3" is faster than a conversation.
- Noisy callers. Callers on a road or a shop floor are easier to serve with a keypad than with speech recognition.
- Languages your bot handles poorly. A keypad works in any language; a bot only in the ones it was built and tested for.
When does a voice bot beat IVR?
- Many reasons to call. Once a menu needs a second level, callers are more likely to get lost or press 0 for a person.
- After hours. A bot can answer the question, not just take a message.
- Repeat questions. Plan limits, delivery timelines and "how do I" questions are the calls a bot handles best. Our guide to which support calls to automate first shows how to find them in your call log.
- Callers who hate menus. Nobody enjoys listening to eight options. A bot that asks one question and understands the answer feels faster.
A voice bot only beats IVR if it sounds natural and doesn't cut people off. Our checklist for an AI voice agent that sounds human covers the tests to run.
When do you need a person?
- the caller mentions a refund, a double charge or cancelling;
- they have called about the same problem before;
- they are angry, confused or asking for a manager;
- the account is large, or the request needs someone to bend a rule;
- the bot has failed to understand them twice.
Build these into the bot's handoff rules on day one. For a shortlist of voice bots with Indian prices, see AI voice agents for customer service.
What TRAI's rules mean for each option
TRAI's commercial-calling rules set out which numbers a business must use for the calls it makes. Promotional calls must come from 140-series numbers (TRAI press release 91/2026), banks, lenders and insurers must use 1600 numbers for service calls, and utilities and logistics firms are moving to 1601 numbers (TRAI direction, 10 August 2026).
The TCCCPR (Third Amendment) Regulations 2026, notified on 18 September 2026, define an A2P call as one started by software "without direct human dialling" and delivered to a subscriber, including artificial-voice calls. If your voice bot or IVR calls customers this way, you must declare those calls and their calling numbers to your telecom operator in advance, or they are treated as unsolicited commercial communication. The amendment takes effect in stages after Gazette publication.
Where TalkEasy by GrowEasy fits
TalkEasy by GrowEasy gives a small team the human and AI layers in one app. Incoming calls on your shared business number can be routed by team, department or who is available, with different rules for office hours and after hours. Its AI receptionist answers calls after hours, at weekends and on holidays, works out why the customer is calling, answers common questions and captures details, then transfers the call or books a callback.
It's a fit when you want people in office hours and AI cover outside them, without buying an IVR system. If you need a multi-level keypad menu or OTP entry, choose a provider that lists IVR on its plan, such as Heyo Pro or MyOperator.
TalkEasy's pricing page doesn't list the AI receptionist, so ask for its price; the listed Pro plan is ₹999 + GST a month with unlimited users and 3 hours of talktime a day (pricing). See our AI receptionist guide for how receptionists compare.
See TalkEasy's AI receptionist
Last reviewed 24 September 2026.
