IVR and call flows

IVR (interactive voice response) and call flows decide what happens when someone calls your business number, until the call is answered or reaches a backup such as voicemail or Voice AI. A plumbing company might ask callers to press 1 for emergency service or 2 to book a visit, then send each caller to the right person.

You build an IVR in Automation > Workflows, either from the IVR recipe for a faster start or from scratch. A typical flow uses:

• A Start IVR trigger, set to one or more phone numbers that should run the menu.
• Say/Play Message, with text-to-speech or an uploaded recording.
• Gather Input, to collect keypad presses.
• Conditions that route each choice to a team, a person or an external number with Connect Call.
• Record Voicemail for when no one is available, and call status checks for unanswered calls.

Save and publish the workflow to turn it on.

Each number's routing lives in Settings > Phone System > Phone Numbers > Edit Configuration. There you can forward calls to an IVR, a team member, an external number, Voice AI or your business number, ring more team members, set the timeout and backup, and add a whisper message.

Calls follow a set order. An IVR, or a Voice AI agent set to answer directly, handles the call first. Next comes owner-based routing, where the number's owner or the contact's assigned user can receive the call, then eligible team member devices and any additional team members. The forwarding number comes after that. After the timeout, the call goes to the backup.

So your forwarding number does not always ring first. If calls reach an assigned user, review contact assignments.