Parlance Nears 2 Billion Calls with the Release of Parlance 12

Parlance 12 improves recognition and self-service on the Parlance switchboard IVR platform health systems already run — more capability, same trusted system, no replacement required.

WOBURN, Mass., July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Parlance, the conversational voice AI platform trusted by leading U.S. health systems, has released Parlance 12, an upgrade to the switchboard and IVR platform now on the cusp of answering 2 billion patient calls — a milestone reached at a sustained rate of six-plus calls every second. The release marks a major step forward in both augmented and enhanced intent recognition. It improves how the system understands callers and increases first call resolution, without requiring health systems to replace the platform they already run. See Parlance 12 in action and learn how the enhancements apply to health system environments.

Modern AI, without the rip-and-replace
 Every IVR runs on a fixed vocabulary: a pre-programmed list of words and phrases that the system is built to recognize. When a caller says something outside that list, older systems fail outright. Parlance 12 doesn't fail; it adapts. The unresolved request is passed to a large language model, which determines what the caller actually needs and routes the call accordingly. What used to be a dead end is now a completed call.

This is semantic routing: real-time interpretation of intent, not pattern-matching against a fixed script. The system listens to what the caller is saying, determines meaning, and sends the caller to the right destination or resource — instantly.

Augmented recognition extends a capability Parlance has refined for three decades: understanding what a caller says on the first try. Parlance 12 applies both statistical and large language modeling to that first-pass recognition, measurably improving accuracy. The result is the same dependable IVR healthcare organizations have run for years — now hearing callers with greater precision than ever. A full conversational IVA remains the highest-performing path forward. For health systems not there yet, Parlance 12 closes much of that gap — better recognition, better self-service, a stronger patient experience, and an extension on the existing IVR investment, starting now. 

Parlance 12 – Almost 2 Billion Calls and Parlance Continues to Sharpen Its Trusted IVR Platform

• Semantic Routing — passes unresolved caller intent to an LLM instead of a dead end
• Augmented Recognition — a significant improvement to first-pass recognition accuracy
• Modernized Synthesized Voice — natural, consistent AI voice prompts across every location in the health system brand
• Real-Time Web Configuration — enables self-service updates to greetings, prompts, and messages for holidays, closures, and emergencies, providing greater autonomy to teams

"Parlance 12 brings advanced AI capabilities into a platform our customers already trust, without asking them to rebuild anything," said Sanjay Yadav, Head of Engineering Development, Parlance. "When the system doesn't recognize what a caller said, it now has somewhere to go instead of a directly to a live operator."

The switchboard becomes the digital front door
The majority of healthcare consumers continue to rely on the phone to access care. For long-time Parlance customers, the switchboard has reliably delivered their callers to the right person or department. Parlance 12 greatly extends the IVR platform's capabilities, after the call connects. A switchboard call no longer has to end with a transfer. It can end with self-service, and that self-service is now AI-based. A caller who needs directions, hours, or an answer to a routine question gets it in the same call, by voice or by text. And there is nothing new for staff to learn.

"This is the platform that's answered nearly two billion calls for our clients, and Parlance 12 makes it better," said Mike Follrath, Chief Revenue Officer, Parlance. "We're not asking anyone to rip out and replace what already works. We're taking the switchboard that's served health systems well for thirty years and giving it the ability to do much more — turning that first call into a digital front door instead of just a transfer."

Health systems running an on-premises IVR can see how Parlance 12 fits their environment on the Parlance IVR modernization page, or schedule a demo to walk through which enhancements apply to their platform.

About Parlance

Parlance delivers HIPAA-compliant conversational voice AI that answers, understands, and routes every healthcare call, around the clock. For more than 30 years, health systems have relied on the Parlance platform to modernize the caller journey at the digital front door. Today, Parlance serves 400+ health systems and has answered more than 1.9 billion patient calls, combining best-in-class speech recognition, omni-channel reach, and EHR integration. Parlance is trusted by HCA Healthcare, Providence Health, UC San Diego Health, NYU Langone Health, Banner Health, Baptist Health, and thousands of hospitals and clinics nationwide. Parlance is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Ali Karasic
Head of Marketing, Parlance
888-700-6263  |   [email protected]  |  www.parlancecorp.com

SOURCE Parlance