AI Voice & Chat glossary
Key terms in AI voice, chat, telephony, and data compliance, explained in plain language.
A
AI Voice Agent
An AI-driven system that answers or places phone calls, understands natural speech, and carries on a conversation to handle tasks like bookings, support, and lead qualification without a human on the line.
AI Chat Agent
An AI-driven system that handles text conversations across channels like web chat, WhatsApp, or SMS, using the same knowledge base and logic as a voice agent.
API (Application Programming Interface)
A set of rules that lets external software connect to a platform. EchoCall exposes a REST/WebSocket API so businesses can integrate voice and chat agents into their own systems.
ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition)
The technology that converts spoken audio into text, the first step an AI voice agent takes before it can understand and respond to a caller.
AVV (Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag)
The German term for a Data Processing Agreement (DPA), a contract required under GDPR/DSGVO when a provider processes personal data on a customer's behalf.
Agent persona
The configured voice, tone, and conversational style an AI agent uses, chosen to match a brand's personality across every call and chat.
Anycast hosting
A network routing technique that directs a caller or visitor to the nearest available server automatically, reducing latency for users spread across different regions.
Authentication token
A piece of data (often a bearer token) that proves a request comes from an authorized user or system, used to secure API calls and dashboard logins.
B
Batch outbound calling
The ability to queue and place many outbound calls automatically, for example for appointment reminders or follow-ups, instead of dialing one by one.
BYO carrier (Bring Your Own Carrier)
An option to connect an existing telephony provider such as Twilio, Telnyx, Vonage, or Sinch to a platform via SIP, instead of using the platform's built-in numbers.
BDSG (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz)
Germany's Federal Data Protection Act, which supplements the EU-wide GDPR with additional national provisions.
C
CNAME
A DNS record that lets a white-label reseller point their own domain (e.g. app.agency.com) at a provider's platform, so the dashboard appears fully under the reseller's brand.
Conversational AI
The broader field of technology that lets software understand and generate natural language for back-and-forth dialogue, the umbrella category AI voice and chat agents belong to.
CRM integration
A connection between an AI agent platform and a customer relationship management system (e.g. Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive), so call and chat data syncs automatically with customer records.
Churn
The rate at which customers cancel or stop using a service over a given period, a key metric for subscription businesses.
D
Dashboard
The central web interface where a business configures its AI agents, reviews call and chat history, and manages billing. For EchoCall, this is EchoHub (hub.echocall.de).
DPA (Data Processing Agreement)
A contract between a business and a service provider that defines how personal data is processed, in line with GDPR requirements. Known as an AVV in Germany.
DSGVO
Datenschutz-Grundverordnung, the German name for the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), the EU's data protection law.
Data controller
Under GDPR, the party that decides why and how personal data is processed. A business using EchoCall is typically the data controller for its own customers' data.
Data processor
Under GDPR, the party that processes personal data on behalf of the data controller, following the controller's instructions. A vendor like EchoCall acts as a processor for the calls and chats it handles.
Dialect support
The ability of a voice AI system to understand and respond naturally to regional speech variations, such as Bavarian, Swiss German, or Austrian German dialects.
E
EU data residency
A guarantee that data is stored and processed within the European Union, rather than in servers outside the EU, to simplify GDPR compliance.
EchoHub
EchoCall's own dashboard product: the single web interface for configuring voice and chat agents, viewing analytics, and managing billing across every channel.
Eligibility hold
A waiting period (for example 30 days) after a referred signup before a commission becomes payable, used to guard against fraud or immediate cancellations.
Endpoint
A specific URL an API exposes for a given action, such as creating an agent or fetching call analytics.
F
FAQ automation
Using an AI agent's knowledge base to answer frequently asked questions automatically, instead of routing every repetitive question to a human.
Fallback response
The answer an AI agent gives when a question falls outside its knowledge base or confidence threshold, typically offering a human handover instead of guessing.
G
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
The EU regulation governing how personal data must be collected, stored, and processed, with strict requirements around consent, data minimization, and user rights.
H
HIPAA
A US law that sets requirements for protecting sensitive patient health information. A 'HIPAA-ready' option means a platform can be configured to support the handling of health-related data accordingly.
Human handover
The moment an AI voice or chat agent transfers a live conversation to a human employee, for example when a caller asks for a person or the request falls outside the agent's scope.
Hosting region
The geographic location of the servers that store and process a platform's data, a key factor for GDPR compliance and latency.
I
ISO 27001
An international standard for information security management systems. Data centres certified to ISO 27001 follow audited processes for protecting data.
IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
A traditional phone menu system ('press 1 for sales'). AI voice agents replace rigid IVR trees with natural conversation instead of button presses.
Integration
A connection between an AI agent platform and an external tool, such as a calendar, CRM, or automation platform (e.g. n8n, Zapier, Make), so data flows automatically between systems.
Intent recognition
The step where an AI system identifies what a caller or chat user actually wants (e.g. 'book an appointment', 'cancel an order') so it can respond or act correctly.
IONOS Cloud
A European cloud hosting provider with data centres in Germany; EchoCall hosts its infrastructure on IONOS Cloud in Frankfurt and Karlsruhe.
J
JWT (JSON Web Token)
A compact, signed token format commonly used to authenticate API requests and dashboard sessions without requiring a database lookup on every request.
K
Knowledge base
The collection of company information, such as FAQs, policies, and product details, that an AI agent references to answer questions accurately. EchoCall uses one shared knowledge base for both voice and chat.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A measurable value used to track how well an AI agent or business process is performing, such as answer rate, average handling time, or conversion rate.
L
Latency
The delay between when someone finishes speaking and when the AI agent starts responding. Lower latency feels more natural; EchoCall targets sub-200ms latency at the median (p50).
LLM (Large Language Model)
An AI model trained on large amounts of text that can understand and generate human-like language, the technology underlying modern AI voice and chat agents.
Live transfer
Connecting a caller directly to a human agent in real time during an active call, rather than ending the call and having a human call back later.
M
Mistral
A European AI model family. EchoCall's own models, EchoCall-Voice and EchoCall-Smart, are built on Mistral rather than reselling a third party's API as-is.
Multi-turn conversation
A dialogue that spans several back-and-forth exchanges while keeping track of earlier context, rather than treating each message in isolation.
N
NLU (Natural Language Understanding)
The part of a conversational AI system that interprets the meaning and intent behind what a user says or types, beyond just recognizing the words.
No-code
A setup approach that lets someone configure an AI agent, workflow, or integration through a visual dashboard, without writing software code.
O
Onboarding
The process of setting up a new customer on a platform, from account creation to a live, working AI agent.
Opt-out
A mechanism that lets a person decline further contact (e.g. outbound calls or marketing messages), which compliant outbound campaigns must record and respect automatically.
Outbound calling
Calls initiated by an AI agent to a customer or lead, as opposed to inbound calls where the customer calls in.
P
p50 / p95 latency
Percentile measures of response speed. p50 is the latency that 50% of responses are faster than (the median); p95 is the latency that 95% of responses are faster than, a common way to show consistency, not just best case.
PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
Any data that can identify a specific individual, such as a name, phone number, or email address. Handling PII carefully is central to GDPR compliance.
Phone number provisioning
The process of obtaining and assigning phone numbers for use with an AI voice agent, often available across many countries through the platform or a connected carrier.
PartnerNet
EchoCall's white-label reseller program, letting agencies resell AI voice and chat agents under their own brand with tiered pricing, from pay-as-you-go to a fully white-labeled offering.
Payout threshold
The minimum balance an affiliate or partner must accumulate before a commission payout can be requested, for example €50 in EchoCall's affiliate program.
Q
Queue
A holding line for calls or chats waiting to be answered, which AI agents can largely eliminate by answering every conversation immediately instead of making callers wait.
R
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
A technique where an AI model looks up relevant information from a knowledge base before generating a response, so answers are grounded in a business's actual data rather than guessed.
REST API
A common style of web API that uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, etc.) to let systems exchange data, used to integrate AI agents into custom software.
Referral link
A unique tracking URL (e.g. containing ?ref=CODE) that credits an affiliate or partner with any signup that happens through it.
Reseller program
A partnership model where a company sells another provider's product under its own brand, earning revenue on every customer it signs up. See also: PartnerNet, white-label.
Response time
How quickly an agent, human or AI, begins answering after a call connects or a message arrives.
S
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
The standard protocol used to set up and manage phone calls over the internet. SIP trunking is how a BYO carrier connects to a voice AI platform.
SLA (Service Level Agreement)
A formal commitment to a level of service, such as an uptime guarantee (for example, 99.9% or 99.95% for enterprise plans).
SOC 2
An audit standard that evaluates a company's controls around security, availability, and confidentiality of customer data. SOC 2 Type II covers how those controls perform over time.
Sentiment analysis
A technique that estimates the emotional tone of a conversation (positive, neutral, negative) from the words used, often shown on an agent's performance dashboard.
Sub-processor
A third party a data processor relies on to help deliver its service (for example a cloud hosting provider), which must also meet GDPR obligations and is typically disclosed to customers.
T
TLS (Transport Layer Security)
The encryption protocol that secures data in transit between a user's browser or app and a server. TLS 1.3 is the current, strongest version in wide use.
TTS (Text-to-Speech)
The technology that converts written text into natural-sounding spoken audio, used by an AI voice agent to reply to callers.
Transcript
A written record of a call or chat conversation, useful for quality review, training, and CRM logging.
Trial period
A limited window during which a customer can test a paid product before committing to a full subscription. EchoCall's trial runs 3 days for €1, card required, automatically refunded afterward.
U
Uptime
The percentage of time a service is available and working correctly, usually expressed as part of an SLA (e.g. 99.9% uptime).
Use case
A specific, real-world scenario or business need a product is applied to, such as appointment booking for a medical practice or reservation handling for a hotel.
V
VoIP (Voice over IP)
The technology that carries voice calls over the internet instead of traditional phone lines, the foundation modern AI voice agents are built on.
Voice persona
See: Agent persona.
W
Webhook
An automated message sent from one system to another when a specific event happens, for example notifying a CRM the moment a call or chat ends.
WebSocket
A connection protocol that keeps a live, two-way link open between a client and server, used for real-time chat and streaming voice data with low delay.
White-label
The ability for a business to rebrand a platform as its own, for example an agency reselling AI voice and chat agents under its own name using EchoCall's white-label engine.
WHMCS
A widely used billing and client-management platform for hosting resellers; a WHMCS module lets a reseller sell AI voice and chat agents alongside their existing hosting products.
Z
Zero-PII mode
A configuration that avoids storing or logging personally identifiable information at all, reducing data protection risk for sensitive use cases.