An IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menu, also called an auto-attendant, answers calls automatically and presents callers with options to reach the right team or department. When a caller presses a key, the system routes them to the destination you configured for that option.
IVR menus are managed by admins and are one of the first things callers encounter when they dial your organization's number.
How IVR Works
When an inbound call arrives and IVR is enabled, Voice plays the IVR greeting to the caller. The caller presses a digit (1, 2, 3, etc.) and Voice routes them to the destination assigned to that digit. If the caller doesn't press anything, the timeout action triggers.
Setting Up an IVR Menu
- Go to IVR in the admin panel and click Create IVR.
- Give the IVR a name (e.g., "Main Menu").
- Upload or record the greeting prompt. The greeting should tell callers what each option does — for example, "Press 1 for Sales, press 2 for Support, press 0 to reach the operator."
- Add a menu entry for each digit you want to support. For each entry, set:
- The digit (0–9)
- The destination: an extension, a call queue, a hunt group, another IVR, voicemail, or an external phone number
- Set the timeout action — what happens when a caller stays on the line without pressing anything. Common choices are: repeat the greeting, go to voicemail, or route to an operator extension.
- Click Save.
Activating Your IVR
After saving the IVR, you need to route calls to it:
- To use it as the default for your organization, go to Org Settings and set the IVR as the default IVR.
- To route a specific phone number to it, go to Numbers, select the number, and set the destination to this IVR.
- To use it as a submenu from another IVR, set one of the other IVR's menu entries to route to this IVR.
Nested Menus
You can chain IVR menus together. For example, your main menu could route "Press 2 for Support" to a Support submenu that lets callers choose between billing and technical issues. Each IVR is its own object — create them separately and link them by setting a menu entry's destination to another IVR.
Uploading Greeting Audio
The greeting is an audio file you upload or record through the admin panel. Supported formats are standard audio formats accepted by the platform. For a professional result, record in a quiet space and keep the prompt short — callers lose patience with long menus.
Fallback Behavior
If a caller presses a digit that has no entry configured, the IVR can repeat the greeting or send the caller to a fallback destination. Set a timeout action to handle callers who press nothing at all.
FAQ
Can I have more than one IVR? Yes. You can create as many IVR menus as you need and link them together. Each phone number or IVR option can point to a different IVR.
What if a caller presses a number I didn't configure? By default, the IVR replays the greeting. You can customize this behavior with the timeout/fallback action when creating the IVR.
Can the IVR be bypassed for certain callers? Not automatically — all callers to a number with an IVR destination hear the menu. If certain callers should reach someone directly, give them a direct number or extension to dial instead.