--- title: "AI phone call glossary: IVR, patch-in, STIR/SHAKEN and more" description: "Plain definitions of the phone and AI agent terms you'll run into when an AI makes calls for you: IVR, call screening, CNAM, patch-in, MCP, two-party consent." url: https://callforme.tel/guides/ai-phone-call-glossary published: 2026-10-29 updated: 2026-10-29 author: CallForMe team, Great Work LLC --- # AI phone call glossary: IVR, patch-in, STIR/SHAKEN and more > The terms that come up when an AI agent makes phone calls, defined in a line or two each: phone menus (IVR), hold, call screening, caller ID and spam labels (CNAM, STIR/SHAKEN), voicemail detection, patch-in, recording consent, and the agent side (MCP, remote MCP server, OAuth, tools). When your agent reports back on a call, a few phone-industry terms keep coming up. Here they are in plain words, with a link to the guide that goes deeper. ## On the call - **IVR (phone menu, phone tree).** The recorded menu that answers many business lines: "For service, press 1." The assistant listens and presses keys or speaks the option. See [phone menus and hold](/guides/phone-menus-and-hold). - **Hold.** Waiting for a person after the menu. The assistant waits, up to the 30-minute call limit, so you don't have to. See [phone menus and hold](/guides/phone-menus-and-hold). - **Operator / front desk.** The catch-all person behind "press 0". When a menu route dead-ends, a retry tries this route instead. - **Call screening.** An assistant on the phone being called that asks who's calling before it rings through. The CallForMe assistant answers with who it's calling for and why. - **AI receptionist.** A business's own AI answering its phone. Two AIs can talk to each other fine; the assistant still asks for a person when it needs one. - **Voicemail detection.** Telling a voicemail greeting from a person. CallForMe hangs up on voicemail for free unless you ask it to leave a message. See [when a call reaches voicemail](/guides/ai-call-reaches-voicemail). - **Patch-in (warm transfer).** Once a person answers, your phone is connected into the call so you can take over. See [hold and patch-in](/guides/ai-agent-hold-and-patch-in). - **Mid-call question.** When the business asks something your request didn't cover, the question goes to your agent while they wait. See [when the business asks something unknown](/guides/when-the-business-asks-something-unknown). ## Caller ID and trust - **Caller ID.** The number the business sees. CallForMe calls come from (469) 966-0062. See [caller ID and callbacks](/guides/ai-call-caller-id-and-callbacks). - **CNAM.** The name shown next to the number on some phones and desk phones, looked up from a carrier database. - **STIR/SHAKEN.** The carrier system that signs calls to show the number wasn't spoofed. Signed calls are less likely to be blocked or labeled spam. - **Spam label ("Spam Likely").** A warning carriers or phone apps show for numbers with bad call patterns. A steady, low volume of real business calls keeps a number clean. ## Rules and consent - **Recording consent.** Some states require everyone on a call to agree to recording ("two-party" or "all-party" consent). CallForMe says "on a recorded line" at the start of every call. See [recording consent by state](/guides/ai-call-recording-consent-by-state). - **AI disclosure.** Telling the other side they're talking to an AI. The assistant opens as "an assistant calling for" you and says it's an AI whenever asked. See [is it legal for AI to call a business](/guides/is-it-legal-for-ai-to-call-a-business). - **TCPA.** The US law that restricts automated calls and texts, mostly to personal phones. CallForMe calls businesses about an errand you asked for, never personal numbers, and isn't for telemarketing. - **Opt-out.** A business can ask not to be called again, and CallForMe stops calling it. ## The agent side - **AI agent.** The assistant you already use (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor and others) that plans the call and reads the result. CallForMe is its phone, not a separate agent. - **MCP (Model Context Protocol).** The standard way agents connect to outside tools. See [MCP reference](/docs/mcp). - **Remote MCP server.** An MCP server reached by URL instead of installed on your computer. CallForMe's is `https://callforme.tel/mcp`. - **OAuth connect.** The sign-in step your agent runs when you add a connector. CallForMe's asks you for nothing. See [how setup links work](/docs/setup-links). - **Tool call.** One action an agent takes through a server, like `place_call` or `get_call`. - **Agent skill.** A file that teaches an agent how to use a service well. See [the CallForMe skill](/docs/skill). ## Related - [What an AI call sounds like to the business](/guides/what-an-ai-call-sounds-like) - [What an AI phone call can't do](/guides/what-an-ai-phone-call-cant-do) - [Can AI make phone calls for me?](/guides/can-ai-make-phone-calls-for-me) ## FAQ ### What's the difference between an IVR and call screening? An IVR is the business's own phone menu ("press 1 for sales"). Call screening runs on the phone you're calling: an assistant on a cell phone asks who's calling before it rings through. Businesses mostly use menus; screening shows up more on personal phones. ### What does patch-in mean? The AI waits on hold for you and, once a person answers, connects your phone into the call so you can take over. With CallForMe you pass your number as transfer_to. ### Do I need to know any of this to use CallForMe? No. Your agent handles the call and reports back in plain words. The glossary is for when a result mentions one of these terms. ## Related - [AI phone call statistics: sourced numbers for 2026](https://callforme.tel/guides/ai-phone-call-statistics.md) - [Make phone calls for an aging parent with your AI agent](https://callforme.tel/guides/phone-calls-for-an-aging-parent.md) - [What is CallForMe?](https://callforme.tel/guides/what-is-callforme.md) - [FAQ](https://callforme.tel/docs/faq.md) - [Safety and disclosure](https://callforme.tel/docs/safety-and-disclosure.md)