Interactive voice response (auto-attendant)

Auto-attendant enables you to connect callers to the right person as quickly as possible when you have a large volume of calls or a general office number.

Calls can be directed to alternative destinations based on the option selected by the caller:

• You can upload your own menu recordings to be played to the caller directly in the call flow or in the audio files area and then select them
• The caller can use their phone’s keypad to select one of up to 12 options (0-9, *, and #)
• You can also set up where the caller will be routed if they do not select an option in time
• Smartnumbers supports multiple layers of IVR by chaining them in the call flow

The auto-attendant service can be set up in the call flow designer to best suit your needs.

After dragging and dropping an IVR service into your call flow and connecting it to a service upstream from it, you have several configuration options:

• Play menu file
  This area allows you to select what audio file will be played to the caller as the menu listing their options. The content of this audio file should reflect where the caller will be routed.
  • Allows selecting from a dropdown of all uploaded audio files
  • If you upload a new file in the audio files area in a separate tab, you can refresh the dropdown to be able to use the newly uploaded file
  • You can preview what the selected audio file sounds like by clicking the play button
  • You can also upload a WAV audio file directly into the service
• Repeat (number of times)
  Sets up how many times the audio file will be repeated to the caller before the call goes down the Timeout branch.
• Output ports
  Connect these to other services in order to branch out the call flow based on what key the user presses. At least one must be connected to a service downstream from the IVR. Multiple output ports of one IVR may be connected to the same service downstream.
  • 0-9
    When the caller presses one of the number keys on their phone's keypad, the call will go down the corresponding route, if there is one set up.
  • *
    When the caller presses the asterisk key on their phone's keypad, the call will go down the corresponding route, if there is one set up.
  • #
    When the caller presses the pound/hash key on their phone's keypad, the call will go down the corresponding route, if there is one set up.
    
  • Timeout
    If the caller does not press any keys, and the menu audio file has played the specified number of times (3 by default), the call will go down the Timeout route.
  • Invalid keys
    If the caller presses an invalid option (keys corresponding to output ports of the service that do not have any services connected), the IVR starts playing the menu audio file again the specified number of times.

For more information about how to connect your IVR service to other services in your call flows, see Getting started with the call flow designer or take a look at the Top 5 use cases for call flows.

The Smartnumbers Support Team can also work with you to add this service to your call flow based on your requirements, and support tickets should be raised for any subsequent changes.