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Language: English
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Telephony

IVR (phone menu)

The CONTACT.WORK IVR answers the call first and finds out what the caller needs. Callers choose an option by pressing a key or saying it, and the menu matches their number against your CRM to play only the options relevant to them. The IVR handles routine questions by itself – where's my order, what's my balance, when is the office open. Every other call goes to an agent, who sees the caller's choices right away, or to the voice AI consultant.

Get a quotePricing
2ways to chooseby key or by voice
Multiplemenu levelsbuilt around your questions
Everycaller choiceshown in the customer record
24/7answersno night shift needed

Tools

What you can set up in the menu

Menu based on customer dataCustomers with a past-due balance hear about payment, new customers hear sales: options come from your CRM.
Scheduled menusBusiness hours, nights, and weekends each get their own options.
Answers without an agentThe menu reads out the customer's data itself: order status, balance due, reward points.
ExtensionsCallers dial an extension and go straight to an employee.
Voice selectionInstead of pressing a key, callers say the option's name, and the menu understands.
Error handlingIf a caller stays silent or presses the wrong key, the menu gives a prompt and repeats the options.

Examples

What callers hear

Three typical calls and how each one moves through the menu.

Customers find out on their own

A shopper wants to know when their order will arrive. The menu finds the order by their phone number in your order system and reads out the status and delivery date. If they need more, they press 0 and reach an agent, who already sees the order.

  • Order lookup by phone number
  • Status without an agent
  • Agent sees the order
Example 1 of 3

All three call flows run in one menu: branches and rules for different customers are set up together.

Under the hood

What the menu is built from

Data

The menu knows who's calling

While the greeting plays, the platform finds the customer by phone number – in your CRM, order system, billing, or loyalty program. What it finds determines which options play and what the menu tells callers automatically: order status, account balance, reward points, appointment date. After the call, the platform can send your CRM the option the caller chose and how they rated the conversation.

  • CRM, order system, loyalty
  • Answers from your data
  • Choice and rating sent back

Voice

Voice talent or text-to-speech

You can have the greeting and options recorded by a voice actor or generated with text-to-speech, or mix the two. While agents are busy, instead of the same music for everyone, you can play promotions picked for each caller based on their city, past purchases, and interests. The platform pulls this data from your CRM.

  • Voice actor recording
  • Text-to-speech
  • Promotions on hold

Reports

See how the menu performs

The IVR report shows how popular each option is, where callers most often hang up, and the share of calls resolved without an agent. Use it to rework the menu: drop what's not needed and move popular options up.

  • Option popularity
  • Where callers hang up
  • Resolved without an agent
Fewer calls for agentsThe menu reads out statuses and routine info automatically, with no one involved.
Calls land in the right placeCustomers don't have to explain twice – the agent sees their choices.
A menu for each callerBased on the number and CRM data, callers hear only the options they need.
Spot the weak pointsThe report shows which options help and which get in the way.

Launch

How we set up your IVR

  1. 01QuestionsWe review the most common reasons people call and design the menu branches so any option is no more than a couple of steps away.
  2. 02ScriptsWe write a short, clear greeting and options, then order a voice actor recording or turn on text-to-speech.
  3. 03DataWe connect your CRM or order system, where the menu gets order statuses and other caller data.
  4. 04BranchesWe set up options, schedules, input error handling, and routing to queues, including a fallback route.
  5. 05TestWe walk through every branch with test calls from different numbers, including ones the platform doesn't know yet.
  6. 06Go liveWe turn on the menu and use the report to fix options where calls drop or go to an agent.

Requirements

What you'll need

Phone system
Asterisk – your existing one or a new one
Lines
SIP lines; the numbers stay yours
Data
CRM, order system, billing, or loyalty program with an API
Speech
Speech recognition and text-to-speech – optional
Deployment
Our cloud or your hardware
Cost
No licenses; work billed in support hours

Preparation

What to decide up front

What do people call about most?The top 5-7 questions – they become the branches.
What information can the menu provide?What you can tell customers without an agent.
Where does the data come from?The system and fields: order, balance, account manager.
Who voices the menu?A voice actor, text-to-speech, and the greeting script.
What plays at night?What callers hear and where calls go when the office is closed.
Where does each option lead?A queue, an employee, or the AI consultant.

Q&A

Frequently asked questions

How many levels should the menu have?

Usually two or three levels, with no more than five options on each – beyond that, callers get confused and hang up. If you have more questions, hand them to the voice AI consultant, which understands questions in the caller's own words.

Voice AI consultant →

Can callers choose by voice instead of pressing keys?

They can: the caller says the option out loud, the menu recognizes the speech and follows the right branch. If you need open conversation rather than a list of options, the voice AI consultant steps in.

Do I need a professional voice actor?

Not necessarily. A voice actor sounds more natural, while text-to-speech is handy when scripts change often. You can combine them: a voice actor for the greeting, text-to-speech for info with numbers.

Can the menu change on a schedule?

It can: business hours, nights, and weekends each get their own options and messages. For example, at night the menu gives office hours and offers a callback.

Missed call callback →

What if the caller stays silent or presses the wrong key?

The options play again, and after a couple of failed attempts the call goes to the general queue – no one gets stuck in the menu.

Does the agent see what the caller chose?

They do: the keys pressed are saved in the call history, so the customer doesn't have to repeat why they're calling.

Can callers dial an extension directly?

They can: if a caller knows an employee's extension, they dial it during the greeting and connect directly, skipping the menu.

How do I know the menu is working well?

Watch three numbers: the share of calls that end in the menu without an agent, the option after which calls drop, and options almost nobody chooses. Those options get removed or moved.

Can customers check their reward points?

They can: the menu checks your loyalty program and reads out their points balance, tier, and available rewards. Right after that, it can suggest ways to use the points or connect them to an agent.

Can the caller's choice be saved to the CRM?

It can: the platform sends the chosen option and the customer's post-call rating to your CRM or back-office system via API.

When is an IVR enough, and when do I need the AI consultant?

An IVR works when there are only a few questions that fit neatly into options. If customers phrase things in many different ways and expect a conversation, you need the voice AI consultant. Many teams combine them: the IVR for the first choice, the AI consultant for deeper branches.

IVR vs. voice AI agent →

Can I play promotions while callers are on hold?

You can, and not the same one for everyone. The platform knows from your CRM where the caller is, what they've bought, and what they're interested in, and plays a matching message: a caller in a city with a new office hears about it, a laptop buyer hears about accessories. You can announce general promotions in the greeting too.

How much does the IVR cost?

The IVR is part of the platform, with no licenses. Setup is billed in support hours. Speech recognition and text-to-speech, if you need them, are paid separately at the price of the service you choose.

Pricing →

Glossary

Terms on this page

CRM – customer relationship management
Where a company keeps its customers, deals, and full communication history. Learn more →
IVR (interactive voice response)
A phone menu: the caller hears a greeting and picks the right department. Learn more →
Text-to-speech
Reads text aloud in a human-like voice. Learn more →
Customer record
The screen of customer data an agent sees during a conversation. Learn more →
Knowledge base
All answers, policies, and prices in one place – for agents and AI. Learn more →
API (application programming interface)
The way programs exchange data with each other without a person in the loop. Learn more →
Speech-to-text
Turns spoken conversation into text. Learn more →
Callback
The customer doesn't wait on hold but asks for a callback – and gets one when an agent is free. Learn more →
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
The protocol that sets up calls in IP telephony. Learn more →
Cloud deployment (cloud)
The platform runs on the vendor's servers, and agents connect over the internet. Learn more →
Automatic callback
The system calls back everyone who couldn't get through. Learn more →

More

More on telephony

Telephony Inbound lines, outbound campaigns, and a browser phone for agents, all connected to your CRM. Learn more Call queues and routing Every call has a known destination, even when everyone's busy. Learn more Missed call callback If a caller gives up waiting, they get a call back – no reminders or lists needed. Learn more Auto dialer The platform does the dialing, so your team only talks to customers. Learn more

Blog

From the blog

All articles →
Telephony · 7 min read A phone menu without the frustration: IVR design rules How to build an IVR that doesn't frustrate callers: short branches, speech recognition, self-service that resolves the issue, and a clear path to an agent. Read the article → Services · 7 min read Custom development of your contact center platform for your processes When contact center settings are not enough: integrations, modules, AI workflows. How to tell development from configuration and estimate the payback. Read the article → Management · 9 min read How many agents does your contact center need? Erlang C in plain English Calculate contact center staffing with Erlang C: workload, service level, shrinkage, and headcount by shift – all in one worked example. Read the article →

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