Routing incoming calls with IVR

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Using multi-level interactive voice response (IVR), or phone trees, you can route customers to the right agent or department, provide recorded responses for frequently asked questions, and deflect calls by allowing callers to switch from a live call to a text message.</p>
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<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">You can use multi-level IVR menus to route calls to the right agents or departments, provide recorded responses, and switch calls to text messages. IVR supports omnichannel routing with ticket tagging for better call management and reporting. You can create custom greetings, build complex menus with multiple levels, and assign menus to phone numbers to improve call handling and customer support workflows.</p>
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<p class="p">Using multi-level interactive voice response (IVR), or phone trees, you can route
customers to the right agent or department, provide recorded responses for frequently
asked questions, and deflect calls by allowing callers to switch from a live call to a
text message. </p>
<p class="p">If a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10169333291290" target="_blank">voice AI agent</a> is enabled on the same phone
line, it handles the call first. IVR begins only if the AI agent escalates the call to
a human agent. After escalation, the normal IVR configuration applies.</p>
<p class="p">This article contains the following topics:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="id_4408885628698__ul_ibt_zsw_bkb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#understand">Understanding IVR</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#record">Recording an IVR greeting</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#create">Creating an IVR menu</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#assign">Assigning an IVR menu to a number</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Related articles</p>
<ul class="ul" id="id_4408885628698__ul_yrb_3lv_g2c">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://www.zendesk.com/blog/what-is-ivr/" target="_blank">Interactive Voice Response definition, benefits +
steps</a>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="understand">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Understanding IVR</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Implementing IVR involves the creation of an IVR menu or tree that callers navigate
through key presses. You can build a simple phone tree with one level or, if you
have a complex support team structure, you can layer multiple menu levels
together.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="understand__image_xlt_wz3_js" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zug_voice_ivr_overview.png" width="600"></p>
<p class="p">Consider the following functionality and limitations before implementing IVR for your
account:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="understand__ul_tz5_klv_g2c">
<li class="li">You can't use IVR for incoming calls from a digital line. For more information
about digital lines, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408830696090" target="_blank">Understanding Embedded voice</a>.</li>
<li class="li">If <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408831738266" target="_blank">call recording is on</a>, recording
continues after you transfer a call internally (to another agent or group) or
externally (to an end-user or external number).</li>
<li class="li">If your plan doesn't support IVR, you can route calls using group routing
instead. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408885952922" target="_blank">Routing incoming calls to
groups of agents</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">When you use a voice AI agent with IVR, the AI agent doesn't change the IVR menus or
destinations offered to callers. Ticket fields and tags updated by the AI agent
remain on the ticket. With omnichannel routing, you can use those fields and tags
in triggers and queues to affect downstream routing after the IVR flow.</p>
<p class="p">To configure a voice AI agent as the first responder, on the phone line's
<strong class="ph b">Routing</strong> tab select <strong class="ph b">Turn on AI agent</strong>, then select an AI agent in
<strong class="ph b">Select an AI agent</strong>. For details, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/11179614475162" target="_blank">Connecting an AI agent to Zendesk voice</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="understand__image_voice_ai_agent_ivr_routing" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_voice_phone_line_ai_agent.png" width="600"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested2" id="omnichannel-routing">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title3">Using IVR with omnichannel routing</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="omnichannel-routing__ul_off_h4k_bzb">
<li class="li">IVR is automatically supported by omnichannel routing. No configuration is
required to activate omnichannel routing to assign IVR calls to agents. When
using omnichannel routing, a ticket is created for incoming calls as soon as
they enter the queue. That means you can run ticket triggers on incoming
calls before they are answered.<p class="p">When you use IVR to add ticket tags based
on keypresses, those tags can then be used in <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6712096584090" target="_blank">queue</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408886797466" target="_blank">trigger</a> conditions to
influence how the call is routed, such as changing the ticket's group
assignment, priority, or skills and determining the ticket's omnichannel
routing queue. You can also <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6257973320090" target="_blank">generate Explore reports on IVR
keypresses based on ticket tags</a>. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" target="_blank">About omnichannel
routing</a>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">If you've turned on <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" target="_blank">omnichannel routing</a>, you can
define <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6712096584090" target="_blank">custom queues</a> if you need to route
tickets to more than one group on a keypress.</li>
<li class="li">If you have already configured IVR and want to turn on omnichannel routing,
remove all non-primary groups from your IVR menu before activating
omnichannel routing.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="sip">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4">Using IVR with SIP lines</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="sip__ul_jvq_rkv_g2c">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8397091234586" target="_blank">SIP-IN lines</a> automatically support
IVR. If you're using a SIP-IN line, the following applies:<ul class="ul" id="sip__ul_kvq_rkv_g2c">
<li class="li">For the textback and external number IVR actions, if no new number
has been entered by the caller, the caller number for IVR actions is
extracted from the username contained in the "from" SIP URI.</li>
<li class="li">For the transfer to external number IVR action, the call is dialled
from the phone number selected as the outbound ID for over
flow/forwarding and IVR transfers in the SIP line settings.<div class="p">
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> IVR menus that require transferring to an external number
will be unavailable if the customer does not have an
associated outbound number configured in the settings tab of
the SIP-IN line.</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="record">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Recording an IVR greeting</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Each IVR menu requires at least one IVR greeting listing the options and
corresponding key presses. If your IVR menu will be complex with multiple levels and
options, you might want to come back to this step after you've built out your menu
(see <a class="xref" href="#create">Creating an IVR menu</a>).</p>
<p class="p">Only Support administrators can modify or delete greetings.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To record a personalized IVR greeting and prompts</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="record__ul_jcc_bsf_yt">
<li class="li">Follow the steps to create a custom greeting in <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821594650" target="_blank">Creating outgoing greetings and assigning greetings to numbers</a>. Select
<strong class="ph b">IVR</strong> as the greeting type. <p class="p">When you create your greeting, keep
in mind that when an IVR greeting message is played to a caller, they
must listen to the whole message before they can press a key to interact
with the IVR.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="create">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Creating an IVR menu</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The way you structure your IVR menu determines how callers are routed and what
options they hear.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To create a new menu</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="create__ol_fy5_3sf_yt">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="create__image_o2w_j3c_ksb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_channels_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Channels</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Talk and email &gt; Talk</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">IVR</strong> tab.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Add menu</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">In the menu that's added, click the <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> tab and enter a name for
the menu.</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Menu levels</strong> tab. </li>
<li class="li">The first menu level, Main menu, is already created for you. If you want
additional, secondary menu levels that callers can reach from the main menu,
click <strong class="ph b">Add menu level</strong>. </li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Name</strong> field of a menu level to edit the menu level
name.</li>
<li class="li">Choose an IVR greeting from the <strong class="ph b">Greeting</strong> menu. You can only choose
greetings of the type IVR. <p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="create__image_nvm_r4k_rx" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/voice_ivr_selectgreeting.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) For <strong class="ph b">Repeat greeting</strong>, select the number of times the
greeting will be played to the caller before the call routes to the default
action.<p class="p">The default is three times.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Add Route</strong> to add a new menu option. <p class="p"><img alt="IVR Add route" class="image img-screenshot" id="create__image_l4m_v2w_bkb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/Talk_ivr_route_2.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">For <strong class="ph b">Keypress</strong>, select an available key or select <strong class="ph b">Default</strong>. <p class="p">If
the caller hasn't pressed a key after the greeting plays three times, or
if the caller presses the wrong key four times during the greeting, the
default route will be used. If you haven't set a default route, the
caller will be disconnected.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">(Omnichannel routing only) In the <strong class="ph b">Tags</strong> field, enter one or more tags
you want applied to the tickets when users press this key in the IVR menu.
These tags can be used in triggers, omnichannel routing, and Explore
reports. For example, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6257973320090" target="_blank">Explore recipe: Reporting on IVR keypresses based on ticket tags</a>. You can add multiple tags, but
cumulatively they can't exceed 100 characters in length.<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Tags don't
persist if a call is routed to a different phone line.
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">For <strong class="ph b">Greeting</strong>, select an optional greeting which will be played to the
caller before they take action on the call. This greeting must be of the
type IVR.</li>
<li class="li">Select one of the following actions:<div class="p">
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> The available actions will differ depending on the type of
greeting you select.</div>
</div>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="create__ul_qdv_3sf_yt">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Voicemail</strong>: Routes the call to the number's voicemail.
Keep in mind that if you haven't selected a greeting in the
field above, no greeting will play (just the beep and straight
to recording). When you select a voicemail action, you'll also
be prompted to enter a group that voicemail tickets will be
associated with.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Group</strong>: Choose one or more groups of agents to route the
call to. Unless a greeting is assigned to this group, the caller
will be placed in the queue and hear the Wait greeting set for
the number. The Available agents greeting will not be played.
For more information about managing groups, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408894175130" target="_blank">Creating
groups</a>. </li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Number</strong>: Routes the call directly to the specified number.
When you select this action type, you'll also be prompted to
enter the number to route calls to. When routing to an external
number in an IVR, that call is not recorded, and a ticket is not
created for the call. Additionally, the number you enter cannot
use an extension number.<div class="p">
<div class="note important">
<span class="importanttitle">Important:</span> When you route a call from your IVR
to another number, you will incur an extra charge for
the call forwarding.</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">IVR Menu</strong>: Routes the call to another menu level within
the same IVR menu. For example, you might want callers to press
1 for VIP support from the main menu, then be directed to
another menu with options for VIP billing, VIP sales, etc. When
you select the IVR menu action type, you'll also be prompted to
select an IVR menu that calls will be routed to.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Text back</strong>: Switches the interaction over to text by
confirming the customer's number, then disconnecting the call
and sending a text message. An SMS ticket will be created for
this interaction with the customer so the conversation can
continue by text. When you select a text back action, you'll be
prompted to select a language to use when asking the caller to
enter the phone number for text back, to select the phone number
to send the message from, and to enter the first message of the
switch to text.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">Select a <strong class="ph b">Group</strong> to route the call to. From the list of groups, turn
on the ones you want, then, in the <strong class="ph b">Primary group</strong> menu, choose the
group that calls will be routed to first. If agents in the primary group are
not available, the call will be routed to one of the other selected groups.
If no agents are available and the caller leaves a voicemail, it will be
assigned to the primary group.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>. </li>
<li class="li">Repeat steps 9-15 to add additional routes.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong> to save the IVR menu.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="assign">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Assigning an IVR menu to a number</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">After you build your IVR menu, assign it to a number. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To assign an IVR to a number</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="assign__ol_es3_ysf_yt">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="assign__image_o2w_j3c_ksb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_channels_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Channels</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Talk and email &gt; Talk</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the number you want to edit.</li>
<li class="li">Select the <strong class="ph b">Routing</strong> tab.</li>
<li class="li">Toggle the <strong class="ph b">Enable IVR?</strong> field to on.</li>
<li class="li">Select the menu you want to use from the <strong class="ph b">IVR menu</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save changes</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
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