A greeting, a few keypress options, and a sensible fallback.
An IVR answers a call, plays a greeting and routes the caller based on what they press. Keep it to one level and five options — callers abandon deeper trees.
Setting one up
- Go to Portal → Extensions → IVR menus and create a menu. It is given its own internal extension number.
- Write the greeting text, or upload a recording. Say the options in the order of how often they are chosen, not alphabetically.
- Add an option per digit and choose its destination.
- Set a timeout destination. This is what happens when a caller presses nothing — send them to a real person, never back to the menu.
- Point a number at the IVR under Portal → Numbers.
Common mistakes
Looping the timeout back to the same menu traps callers who have a rotary phone, a bad line, or no patience. Offering nine options when three would do makes the greeting too long to remember. And an IVR with no route to a human is the single most common reason people stop calling a business.
Last updated 12 Sep 2026. Something wrong or missing here? Tell us — we would rather fix the page than answer the same ticket twice.