Auto Attendant
Answer every call. Route to the right place.
An auto attendant greets callers automatically, presents menu options, and routes them to the right department, extension, or queue — without a human receptionist answering every call.
Definition
What is an auto attendant?
An auto attendant is a phone menu system that answers incoming calls automatically, plays a recorded greeting, offers menu options ("Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support"), and routes the caller based on their selection.
Comparison
Auto attendant vs IVR
Auto attendant and IVR are often used interchangeably, but technically differ: an auto attendant routes calls based on keypad input; an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) can also collect spoken input and trigger backend actions like account lookups. EaseDial's IVR includes both capabilities. See IVR for the full feature overview.
Capabilities
What auto attendant includes
Call Greeting
Play a custom recorded greeting or use text-to-speech to welcome callers and set expectations before menu options are presented.
Menu Options
Configure multi-level menus with multiple tiers of sub-menus — each option routes to a destination or presents a further menu.
Department Routing
Each menu selection routes to a call queue, specific extension, external number, or voicemail — whichever destination fits the department.
Business Hours
Set separate routing rules for open hours, closed hours, and public holidays. Callers outside business hours reach the configured after-hours destination.
How It Works
How an auto attendant call flows
Call Arrives
The inbound call reaches the business number. The auto attendant answers immediately.
Greeting Plays
A recorded or text-to-speech greeting welcomes the caller and sets context.
Menu Presented
The system plays the configured menu options — "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support."
Caller Selects
The caller presses a key. The system registers the selection and determines the destination.
Routed to Destination
The call routes to the configured queue, extension, sub-menu, or voicemail.
Use Cases
Who uses auto attendant
Small Business
Replace a dedicated receptionist for basic call routing. The auto attendant handles every inbound call, directing callers to the right person or voicemail — at any hour.
Contact Center
Use auto attendant as the front-end routing layer before calls reach the IVR and agent queues — sorting volume before it hits specialist teams.
Multi-Location Business
Assign different numbers and greetings to each location. Callers reach a greeting specific to the location they called, with routing appropriate to that office.
FAQs
Auto Attendant FAQs
What is an auto attendant?
An auto attendant is a phone menu system that answers incoming calls automatically, plays a recorded greeting, offers menu options ("Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support"), and routes the caller to the appropriate department, extension, or queue based on their selection — without a human receptionist handling each call.
How is auto attendant different from IVR?
An auto attendant routes calls based on keypad input from a menu. An IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system can also collect spoken input and trigger backend actions such as account lookups or data retrieval. In practice the terms are often used interchangeably, but IVR is the broader capability. EaseDial's IVR includes auto attendant menu routing plus speech recognition and backend integrations.
Can I have different greetings for business hours vs after hours?
Yes. You can configure separate greetings and routing rules for business hours, after hours, and holidays. When a call arrives outside your defined business hours the system plays the after-hours greeting and routes to the configured destination — voicemail, an external number, or a different queue.
Can I have multi-level menus?
Yes. EaseDial supports multi-level auto attendant menus. Each menu option can route to a destination or trigger a sub-menu — for example, pressing 2 for Support could present a second menu with options for Billing Support, Technical Support, or General Enquiries.
What happens if the caller doesn't press anything?
The behavior when a caller makes no selection is configurable. Common options include replaying the menu, transferring to a default extension or queue, or routing to voicemail. You define the fallback action in the admin portal.
Can I route a menu option to a call queue?
Yes. Any auto attendant menu option can route to a call queue, a specific extension, an external number, or voicemail. Queue routing is the most common configuration for departments receiving multiple simultaneous calls.
Do callers need to press buttons or can they speak?
A basic auto attendant uses keypad (DTMF) input — callers press a number to make their selection. EaseDial's IVR adds speech recognition, allowing callers to say their selection instead of pressing a key. See the IVR feature page for the full speech input capability.
What is the difference between an auto attendant and a receptionist?
An auto attendant is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and handles every incoming call simultaneously — there is no hold because all lines are busy. A human receptionist handles one call at a time, works limited hours, and is unavailable when on break, sick, or on other calls. An auto attendant handles routine routing; a receptionist provides personal interaction and judgment for complex situations.
Related guides and features
Configure call routing without hardware
Set up auto attendant menus, multi-level routing, and business hours rules from the EaseDial admin portal.