Digital receptionists (IVR)

A digital receptionist answers with a recorded prompt — "press 1 for sales, 2 for support" — and routes callers by keypress, with sensible handling for silence and wrong keys.

Creating a digital receptionist

Admin → Call Distribution → Add IVR. Set the extension number (fixed once created), a name, and the prompt language (English, Spanish, French or German — this selects the system prompt set for anything the IVR itself says).

The prompt

Upload the greeting as a WAV file — PCM, 16-bit, mono, up to 10 MB (MP3 is accepted too; WAV plays without a decode on every call). Record at 16 kHz or higher for HD phones and the web client's softphone; most outside callers hear 8 kHz either way. Any audio tool can export that format; keep menus short and front-load the options callers actually want (they can press before the prompt finishes). The greeting comes from the shared audio prompts library, so you can upload it here or record it straight from a phone.

Menu options and destinations

Each key 0-9 gets an action: connect to an extension, queue, ring group, another IVR, an external number (dialed through your outbound rules — right trunk, caller ID and permissions), or voicemail; repeat the prompt; or open the name directory (callers spell a name to reach a person). Keys left on Nothing count as invalid input.

Allow callers to dial extensions (on by default) lets a caller who knows an extension just dial it during the menu — turn it off for strictly-menu flows. Only extensions that actually exist can be reached this way; an auto-dialer punching numbers into the menu gets nowhere.

If menu option 1 is the name directory and extension 107 belongs to a user, leave this setting enabled: entering 107 reaches the extension, while pressing 1 alone selects the directory after the inter-digit wait (three seconds). With extension dialing disabled, only the first digit is collected, so 107 selects option 1.

Timeout and invalid input

• No input — after the timeout (default 60 seconds) the call goes to the configured send call to destination, so silence never strands a caller.
• Invalid input — repeat the prompt (default), end the call, or forward to a destination.
• Max time in this IVR — ends a call that has sat in the menu longer than the limit, which is what stops a robocaller from parking on it. The timer is cancelled the moment the caller leaves the menu for anything other than another IVR, so an answered call is never cut off.

Multi-level menus

Point a key at another IVR to nest menus ("press 2 for support" → a second menu for product lines). Keep it to two levels where you can — every layer costs callers patience — and give inner menus a key that returns to a human (a queue or ring group) rather than dead-ending.

Office hours and after-hours menus

Receptionists honor office hours with their own overrides for closed, break and holiday periods — accept anyway, end the call, or forward (optionally after an announcement). The common pattern is two receptionists: the day menu, and a night menu whose prompt sets expectations ("we're closed, press 1 to leave a message") — with the day IVR's closed-hours action forwarding to the night one.