IVR & Auto-Attendant
Callers Press 1. And Reach the Right Desk.An auto attendant and IVR menu that routes every caller, built by drag and drop.
Greet every caller with a short menu and send each key to the right person, team or queue. The first key press cuts the greeting short, and callers who press nothing or the wrong key still end up where you chose. Build it by drag and drop, on every plan.
- Key press skips the greeting
- Exits for silence, wrong keys
- Included on every plan
How a call moves through it
- A customer callsYour main number or a toll-free line
- Greeting and menuPressing a key cuts the greeting short
- They press a keyTo a person, team, queue or menu
- Pressed nothing?Asked again, then sent where you chose
- The right desk answersNo transfer needed
Every Caller Sent the Right Way.
Callers choose the right team before anyone picks up, so nobody answers and transfers every call by hand.
Silence and wrong keys each have their own way out, so no caller loops forever.
Press 2 for support, then hear the support menu. Any key can open another menu.
Upload a recording, or type the greeting and have it spoken in a saved voice.
Your Phone Menu, Live in Three Steps.
Start from the Template
Open the auto-attendant template in the call flow builder, or add a menu step to a flow you already have.
Record the Greeting, Map the Keys
Upload a recording or type the words for a saved voice. Send each key to a person, team, queue or another menu.
Set the Exits, Then Publish
Choose where silence and wrong keys go, walk a test call through the menu, then publish it to your number.
What Is an Auto Attendant, and How Is It Different from IVR?
An auto attendant answers your business line with a short greeting and a menu: press 1 for sales, 2 for support. Each key sends the caller to the right person, team or queue, so nobody has to pick up and transfer calls by hand.
An auto attendant is the simplest kind of IVR (interactive voice response); many people also call it a phone tree system. In Adoptiv the menu is keypad only, and the first key press cuts the greeting short, so regular callers don’t sit through it.
Callers do two things most phone menus aren’t built for: they press nothing, or they press a key that isn’t on the list. Each gets its own exit. The menu waits 5 seconds after the greeting, asks again up to 3 times, then sends the caller where you chose, such as a call queue or another team.
A key can open a second menu, so a multi-level IVR is a few clicks. The greeting can be a recording you upload or text spoken in a saved voice. Because the menu is one step in a call flow, Adoptiv’s IVR software works with your business hours, queues and callbacks. Callers can’t type an extension or say a name, so keep the list short and plain.
An Auto Attendant Phone System, Without the Phone System Project.
Each key sends callers to a person, a role, a team or a queue.
Silence and wrong keys re-prompt, then leave by exits you choose.
A key can open another menu, or hand the call to a separate flow.
For Any Business That Gets More Than One Kind of Call.
Auto Attendant vs a Receptionist on Every Call.
| What | A person answering every call | With Adoptiv |
|---|---|---|
| Hours covered | A person answering every call: When someone is at the desk | With Adoptiv: Every hour, with a different route after hours |
| Calls at the same time | A person answering every call: One at a time; the rest ring or wait | With Adoptiv: Every caller hears the menu at once |
| Getting to the right person | A person answering every call: Ask, then transfer by hand | With Adoptiv: One key press, straight to the person, team or queue |
| Nobody free | A person answering every call: Callers left ringing or on hold | With Adoptiv: A set exit, such as a queue or another team |
| Unusual requests | A person answering every call: A person can handle anything | With Adoptiv: Keypad choices only. For conversations, put SIYA, the AI voice agent, first |
IVR & Auto-Attendant Questions, Answered.
What is an auto attendant?
A phone menu that greets callers and sends them to the right person or team when they press a key, so nobody has to answer and transfer every call.
What happens if a caller presses nothing?
They are asked again, three times by default, then sent to the route you chose for silence. A wrong key has its own route too.
Can callers say what they want instead of pressing keys?
Not in the menu: the auto attendant is keypad only. For callers who would rather talk, put SIYA, the AI voice agent, at the front of the call.
Can callers dial an extension?
Not by typing it. Each key goes to a person, team, role or queue that you choose.
Is the IVR included in my plan?
Yes. Call flows, IVR menus and routing are included on every plan.
How do I set up a phone tree for a small business?
Start from the auto-attendant template in the call flow builder. Record or type your greeting, map each key to a person, team or queue, choose where silence and wrong keys go, walk a test call through it, then publish it to your number.
How many options should a phone menu have?
Few enough that callers remember them after hearing them once, with the most common reason first. If you need more, a key can open a second menu.
What should an auto attendant greeting say?
Your business name, then the options in the order callers need them: “Thanks for calling Northwind. For sales, press 1. For support, press 2.” Keep it short; the first key press cuts it off anyway.
Can the menu route calls differently after hours?
Yes. The menu is a step in a call flow, so outside your business hours and on holidays callers can hear a different greeting and go somewhere else.
Still have a question? A real person replies in under 60 seconds in US business hours. Talk to our team →
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Answer Every Call the Right Way.
Build your first menu in the free trial. Call flows, IVR menus and routing are on every plan. Free for 14 days, no credit card.
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