AI voice agent or a phone menu?
A phone menu routes calls. An assistant handles them. The difference matters most when the caller does not fit the menu.
What is the difference between an IVR menu and an AI voice agent?
A menu asks the caller to classify themselves into options you defined, then sends them somewhere. An assistant listens to what they actually want, collects details, and can complete the task rather than passing it on.
Menus fail on the calls that do not fit an option, which are disproportionately the interesting ones.
Is a phone menu cheaper?
Usually yes, often included with a business phone system. If the goal is only to route calls between two departments that already have people answering, a menu is the right amount of technology.
When is a menu the wrong choice?
When there is nobody at the end of the options. A menu that routes a caller to a phone nobody answers has added a step and changed nothing.