An auto attendant, also called an IVR or phone menu, greets callers and sends them where they need to go: "Thanks for calling Coastal Plumbing. For new appointments, press 1. For billing, press 2." It's the front door of intSignal's auto-attendant, IVR and call routing, which also covers ring groups, queues and business-hours rules.
Owners and admins create menus in Admin → Settings → Settings → Call Flows → Auto attendants, titled Auto-attendant (IVR).
Plan your menu
Before you build, write down:
- The greeting, word for word.
- Each option: the key and where it goes.
- What happens if the caller presses nothing.
Keep it short. Three or four options is plenty. Put the most-used option first, and mention how to reach a person.
Create a menu
Start
Select + New IVR.
Number and name
Enter a Number of 2 to 6 digits, such as 700, and a Name, such as Main menu.
Timeout
Timeout (s) is how long to wait for a key press after the greeting. It's 7 seconds unless you change it, and can be from 3 to 30.
Add the options
Under Menu — key → destination, select + add key. Choose the key (1–9, 0, * or #) and its destination. Add a row for each option. Select remove to delete one.
Save and apply
Create the menu, then select Apply Configuration.
| Error | Fix |
|---|---|
| "IVR number must be 2-6 digits" | Use 2 to 6 digits. |
| "Name is required" | Give the menu a name. |
| "… is already an extension/ring group/IVR" | Choose a number that isn't in use. |
| "That menu would create a call routing loop: …" | An option leads back into this menu. Change it. |
Where menu options can go
Send options to an extension (a person), a ring group (a team), or an AI receptionist. Type a number or name in the destination box and pick from the results, which show the type, number and name.
After building a menu, call in and try every option to check each one reaches the right place.
Record the greeting
Each menu shows ✓ greeting set or no greeting yet.
Generate or upload it
Select ✨ AI / upload greeting:
- Generate with AI: type the greeting, up to 1,000 characters, and choose a voice. It's quick to change whenever your options change.
- Upload a file: use a recording you've made, up to 15 MB.
Optionally add background music (Subtle, Medium or Loud), then select Use this audio.
If you see "The AI voice isn't available on this workspace yet.", upload a recording instead, or ask intSignal about AI voices.
Record it from a phone
Dial *81 followed by the menu's number, for example *81700 for menu 700, and follow the
prompts. Recording by phone doesn't change the no greeting yet label, so test the greeting by
calling the menu.
Writing a good greeting
- Say the options before the key: "For billing, press 2", not "Press 2 for billing", so callers know whether to listen.
- If calls are recorded, say so. See Call recording.
- Mention your website for common questions, such as opening hours.
When the caller presses nothing
Menus repeat the greeting when a caller doesn't press anything. In the Advanced view you can control what happens next:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Max retries | How many times the caller is prompted again, from 1 to 5. The default is 3. |
| On timeout → | Where the caller goes after the last retry, such as reception. "blank = hang up". |
Set On timeout → so callers who can't use a keypad, or who are waiting for a person, still reach someone.
Put the menu in front of callers
A menu does nothing until callers reach it:
- From your main number: add business hours to the number, with the menu as Open →.
- From another menu or flow: use it as a destination.
Edit on the map
The Visual Flow builder shows every menu with its keys. Select a menu box to edit Wait for key (secs), Retries and each Key → destination, then select Save (staged) and ✓ Apply.