Auto Attendant

The Auto Attendant (also called IVR - Interactive Voice Response) is the phone menu your callers hear when they call in. "Welcome to Summit Plumbing, press 1 for Sales, press 2 for Service..." - that's an auto attendant.

You record a greeting, then map each button press to a destination - a user, a group, another auto attendant, or an external phone number. Callers hear your greeting, press a button, and get routed where they need to go.

Go to Manage > Auto Attendant to see your auto attendants.

Auto Attendant List

Each auto attendant is displayed as a card with:

• Avatar - The IVR's initials
• Name - The name you gave it (e.g. "Main Menu", "Sales", "After Hours")
• Edit IVR - Opens the editor to change the greeting, routes, or name
• Delete IVR - Removes the auto attendant after a confirmation prompt

Click + Add in the top right to create a new auto attendant.

Creating and Editing an Auto Attendant

The auto attendant editor has three sections: name, greeting audio, and routes.

Name

A descriptive name for this auto attendant. Use names that reflect the menu's purpose - "Main Menu", "Sales Menu", "After Hours", etc.

Greeting Audio

The audio message callers hear when they reach this menu. This is where you tell callers their options: "Thank you for calling Summit Plumbing. For Sales, press 1. For Service, press 2. To speak with the operator, press 0."

Click Upload/Record Audio... to open the audio dialog where you can:

• Record - Record a greeting directly from your browser using your microphone. Click the record button, speak your greeting, then stop and save.
• Upload - Upload an MP3 file you've already recorded. Drag and drop or click to select a file.

After recording or uploading, you can preview the audio with the built-in player before saving.

Routes

Routes map button presses to destinations. Each route reads as: Press [button] For [destination].

Available buttons: 1-9, 0, Star (*), Pound (#), and No Response (what happens when the caller doesn't press anything).

Each button can only be assigned once - already-used buttons are greyed out in the dropdown.

Click Add Route to add a new route. For each route, select the button and then pick the destination. Click the trash icon to remove a route.

Route Destinations

When you click the Destination field, the route picker opens with all available destinations:

• Users - Route to a specific team member by extension
• Groups - Route to a ring group (the call rings all members, or queues if call queue is enabled)
• IVRs - Route to another auto attendant for nested menus (see Nested Menus below)
• Voicemail - Send the caller directly to a user's or group's voicemail
• Phone Number - Forward the call to an external phone number
• Features - Special routing options like Busy (play busy tone) or Repeat (replay the greeting)

Click Save to save your auto attendant.

Connecting an Auto Attendant to a Phone Number

After creating your auto attendant, you need to assign it to one or more phone numbers so callers actually reach it.

1. Go to Phones and click the phone number you want to configure
2. In the Configure tab, set the Go To destination to your auto attendant
3. You can also set it as the destination in a Schedule (e.g. play your main menu during business hours) or Calendar (e.g. play a holiday greeting on specific dates)

See Call Routing Priority for how Tonet decides which destination to use when you have a calendar, schedule, and default route configured.

Example: Routing to Groups

A plumbing company has two departments that receive calls: Sales and Service.

1. Create two groups: "Sales" and "Service Team", each with the relevant team members
2. Create an auto attendant called "Main Menu"
3. Record a greeting: "Thank you for calling Summit Plumbing. For Sales, press 1. For our Service Team, press 2. To reach the operator, press 0."
4. Add three routes:
   • Press One for Sales (group)
   • Press Two for Service Team (group)
   • Press Zero for Rick (user - the operator)
5. Go to Phones, select your main number, and set its destination to "Main Menu"

When a customer calls, they hear your greeting and press a button. If they press 1, the call rings everyone in the Sales group. If all Sales members are busy and Call Queue is enabled, the caller waits in line. If everyone is offline, the caller gets the Sales group's voicemail.

Example: Nested Menus (Routing to Individuals)

For larger teams, you can create multi-level menus by routing to other auto attendants.

Say your Sales team has three people and you want callers to choose who to speak with:

1. Create an auto attendant called "Sales Menu" with the greeting: "For Mike, press 1. For Sarah, press 2. For Jake, press 3."

   • Press One for Mike (user)
   • Press Two for Sarah (user)
   • Press Three for Jake (user)

2. In your "Main Menu" auto attendant, set the Sales route to point to the Sales Menu IVR instead of the Sales group:

   • Press One for Sales Menu (IVR)

Now when a caller presses 1 for Sales, they hear a second menu letting them choose the specific person they want. You can nest as many levels as you need.

Deleting an Auto Attendant

Click Delete IVR on any auto attendant card. A confirmation dialog asks you to confirm before it's permanently removed.