Skip to main content
How-to

IVR menus (auto-attendant)

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menus -- also called auto-attendants -- let you build automated phone trees that greet callers and route them based on their input. A caller might hear "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support" and be directed to the right queue, agent, voicemail, or sub-menu.

Overview​

An IVR menu plays a greeting prompt to the caller and waits for input. The caller responds by pressing a key on their phone's keypad (DTMF) or by speaking a keyword. Based on the input, the system routes the call to the configured destination.

Menus can be simple (a single level of options) or complex (nested menus with sub-menus branching off each choice). They're commonly used as the first point of contact for inbound calls, directing callers to the right department before they ever reach a queue.

Creating a new menu​

  1. Navigate to Calls > Settings > Menus.
  2. Select Add Menu.
  3. Enter a Name for the menu (e.g., "Main Menu" or "Support Menu").
  4. Configure the greeting, input options, and default route as described below.
  5. Select Save.

The greeting is the audio prompt callers hear when the menu answers. This is where you tell callers their options: "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support, or stay on the line for general assistance."

Choose between:

  • Audio file -- upload a pre-recorded prompt from the audio library
  • Text-to-speech -- type the prompt text and select a male or female voice
tip

Keep menu greetings under 30 seconds. Callers who hear long prompts are more likely to hang up. State the most common option first.

Input modes​

UltraCart IVR menus accept two types of caller input:

  • DTMF (keypress) -- the caller presses a number on their phone's keypad
  • Speech recognition -- the caller speaks a keyword (e.g., "Sales" or "Support")

You can configure both for the same menu option, giving callers flexibility. For example, key "1" and the spoken word "Sales" can both route to the Sales queue.

Input wait time​

Set the number of seconds the system waits for the caller to provide input after the greeting finishes. The minimum is 4 seconds. If the caller doesn't respond within this window, the call routes to the default route.

Direct extension dialing​

Enable Allow Direct Extensions to let callers dial an agent's extension number directly from the menu keypad. When enabled, a caller who knows their contact's extension can reach them without navigating the menu tree.

Mapping options to destinations​

Each menu option consists of a DTMF digit, an optional speech keyword, and a routing destination.

Adding an option​

Under Route Options, each row defines one menu choice:

FieldDescription
DTMF DigitsThe number the caller presses (e.g., 1, 2, 0)
Speech InputAn optional spoken keyword the caller can say instead (e.g., "Sales")
RouteThe destination for this option

Routing destinations​

Each option can route to:

DestinationWhat happens
QueueThe call enters the selected queue and waits for an agent
AgentThe call rings a specific agent's extension directly
MenuThe call enters another IVR menu (nesting)
VoicemailThe caller hears a voicemail greeting and can leave a message
Time-based ruleThe system checks the current time and routes accordingly
Send Text MessageThe caller is texted a message you write, instead of being routed to a person or mailbox

Texting information to the caller​

Some answers are hard to take down by ear. A support email address, a tracking URL, or an office address read aloud by text-to-speech is easy for a caller to mishear and write down wrong. The Send Text Message destination handles those: instead of sending the call on to a queue or an agent, it texts the caller the message you wrote.

To set one up:

  1. Navigate to Calls > Settings > Menus and edit the menu.
  2. On the route option you want, set Route Call to Send Text Message.
  3. Enter the message in the Text Message field that appears. The body is required and is limited to 160 characters, with a counter under the box showing how many you have used.
  4. Leave Send From blank to text the caller from the number they dialed, or pick a different number of yours.
  5. Select Save Menu.

If you leave the body empty, the save is refused and the menu tells you which option needs a message.

Why 160 characters​

A text message is billed in segments, and 160 characters is one segment. A message that fits sends as a single text. A longer one is split and charged as several, so the limit keeps both the cost and the caller's experience predictable. Write the answer, not the background: a support email address, a tracking link, or an address is what callers want in writing.

If a menu you built before this limit existed has a longer message, it is left alone. The field shows the whole message, the counter reads over the limit, and the menu still saves. You only run into the limit when you type or paste a new message.

Choosing the Send From number​

By default the text goes out from the number the caller dialed. That works only if the number is SMS enabled. Voice numbers are not always SMS enabled, and when the dialed number is voice only the text cannot be delivered.

Set Send From to send from a different number instead. The picker lists every phone number on your account, including numbers that are not SMS enabled, so check the number you choose is enabled for SMS on the Numbers page. You can only send from a number your account owns, which UltraCart verifies both when you save the menu and again when the call comes in.

warning

Picking a Send From number that is not SMS enabled saves without complaint, and the failure only shows up when a caller chooses that option. Confirm the number is SMS enabled before you rely on it.

Where this option is available​

Send Text Message applies to a single route option inside a menu. It is not offered on the menu's default route, on a phone number, or on a time-based rule, because it answers a caller's specific keypress rather than routing a call.

Changing a route option to a different destination later clears the message body and the Send From number for that option.

Default route​

The default route handles callers who don't press any key or speak an unrecognized word within the input wait time. Configure this to catch callers who stay on the line without interacting. Common choices include routing to a general queue, replaying the menu, or connecting to an operator.

Invalid entry handling​

When a caller presses a key that isn't mapped to any option, the system replays the menu greeting so the caller can try again. If the caller still doesn't provide valid input after the timeout, the call routes to the default route.

Nesting menus​

You can create multi-level phone trees by routing a menu option to another menu. For example:

  • Main Menu: "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support"
    • Support Menu (reached by pressing 2): "Press 1 for Technical Support, Press 2 for Billing, Press 3 to return to the main menu"

There's no hard limit on nesting depth, but keep trees shallow -- 2-3 levels at most. Deep menu trees frustrate callers and increase abandonment rates.

tip

Always offer a way back. When using nested menus, include an option to return to the previous menu or connect to a live agent.

Connecting menus to phone numbers​

After creating a menu, connect it to one or more phone numbers so callers hear it when they call.

  1. Navigate to Calls > Settings > Numbers.
  2. Select Edit on the phone number.
  3. In the Route dropdown, select the menu.
  4. Select Save.

Combining menus with time-based routing​

A common pattern uses time-based routing as the first layer, with different menus for business hours and after hours:

  1. Create two menus: a business-hours menu (with options for Sales, Support, etc.) and an after-hours menu (with a "leave a message" option).
  2. Create a time-based rule that routes to the business-hours menu during open hours and the after-hours menu outside of business hours.
  3. Assign the time-based rule to your phone number.

This ensures callers always hear an appropriate greeting regardless of when they call.

Copying and deleting menus​

Copying a menu​

Select Copy Menu from the menu's edit dialog to duplicate the configuration. The copy includes all options and routing, with " - Copy" appended to the name.

Deleting a menu​

Select Delete to remove a menu. Before deleting, the system checks whether any phone numbers or time-based rules reference this menu. If references exist, the deletion is blocked and a message indicates which items need to be updated first.

warning

You cannot delete a menu that is currently referenced by a phone number or time-based rule. Update those routing rules to point elsewhere before deleting the menu.

Was this page helpful?