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Directory assistance
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==Technology== Directory assistance systems incorporate a wide range of automation to reduce the cost of human operators.<ref name=Free411.NYT2006>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/business/the-411-on-directory-assistance.html |title=The 411 on Directory Assistance |author=Fred A. Bernstein |date=March 9, 2006}}</ref> Almost all systems use custom [[database]] software to locate listings quickly. Most directory assistance systems use automated readback systems to give out the phone number. This frees the directory assistance operator to move on to another caller as soon as the correct listing is located. Some systems have "store and forward" technology which records the city and state the caller is requesting; it then plays the recording to the operator before they answer and ask the caller to further specify. [[Interactive voice response]] systems have been added to many directory assistance systems. These complex systems use [[speech recognition]] and recorded speech or [[speech synthesis]] to handle the entire call without live operator intervention. Most systems recognize location and listing. If recognition confidence is high, the best result is played to the caller. If confidence is low, the caller's request is played back to a live operator, who locates the correct listing.{{Cn|date=September 2024}}
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