Developer's AI Phone Agent Failed to Navigate Government IVR Menu After 193 Seconds

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A software developer built an AI-powered phone agent called CounterCall, designed to call government offices and return a verified checklist of documents and requirements for in-person visits. The agent, built as a skill for a voice-call API named CALL-E, was tested on Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) general enquiries line for a passport renewal query. During a real call on September 10, 2026, the agent spent 193 seconds responding to a touch-tone IVR menu before the system disconnected it, never reaching a human clerk. The developer documented the failure openly, noting that the agent could not press numbered keys to navigate the automated menu. The post details how the system was designed to handle such 'no result' outcomes gracefully, including schema validation rules to ensure no fabricated or empty data is ever returned to the user.

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